In Our Youth
by Biagotmilkandjelly
Summary: (This is open to suggestions/prompts) A collection of short stories about Thor, Loki, and their merry men (and women) during their childhood. FEATURING: Puny Gods, Odin's A plus Parenting, FEELZ, Frozen references, References to other things as well, Stan Lee, Characters from the Myths and Marvel alike, DISCLAIMERS, and Shenanigans! Rated K for loKi feelz!
1. In the Shade of Your Greatness

_"I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss, I who was and should be king!"_

_-Loki (Tom Hiddleston), The Avengers (2012)_

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_**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR THE WRITING ITSELF. *crais***_

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"Mother, have you seen Loki? We were playing a game of hide-and seek, but it's been three _hours _already. I can't find him _anywhere_." Thor looked embarrassed, obviously more distraught about having to ask for help than not being able to find his brother. "Did you see which direction he ran off in?"

Frigga's eyes twinkled, like she could see something amusing about this. "Oh no, I'm sorry sweetie. I'm afraid I haven't seen him come by this way. Has it truly been three hours already?"

Thor looked crestfallen. "Verily, and no matter where I look for him, I cannot find him! I have searched everywhere, mother! He must not be hiding here... But we promised not to leave this floor! I cannot believe that he would go back on his word, Mother."

Frigga smiled again. "Oh, I don't believe he would do that either sweetie. I assure you, he is on this floor. You must look harder. Good luck!" She continued weaving whatever tapestry she had been working on.

Thor turned to leave dejectedly. "I shall find him, Mother... I just hope I can do so before dinner." He left to find his father.

Frigga smiled to herself as she watched him leave, returning the silent kiss blown to her by her second son as he followed directly behind his older brother silently.

Thor tried his father next. Odin was slightly thrown by the sight of his first son trudging in dejectedly while his second followed behind grinning with a mixture of mischief and triumph. "What is the matter, Thor?" He eyed Loki, wondering what he had done to make his brother so upset.

"Father, I cannot find Loki _anywhere_! We were playing hide-and-seek, and it has been _three_ hours! I fear I have lost him forever!" The golden prince wailed sorrowfully. "I have searched the whole floor, and he _promised_ me that he would not leave it.

The Allfather understood immediately, and nodded, half in acknowledgement to Loki's signals to say nothing, and half to Thor's problem. He gave a booming laugh, it echoed about the hall. "Yes, I have seen your brother, Thor. I assure you, he has not left this floor. You must keep looking for him, I am sure you will find him eventually."

"But I've searched _everywhere_! Where could he be?!" The thunderer cried, storming out of the room exasperatedly.

Odin laughed. "He may be closer than you think, my son." He boomed cryptically.

Thor groaned. "That does not help me to find him, father!" He left to find someone else.

-fifteen minutes later-

"Heimdall! Tell me where my brother is!" Thor thundered, having clearly lost his patience.

The guardian smiled, focusing his all-sight on the two boys. "... Why are you searching for him, my prince?"

Thor groaned in frustration. "I have been searching for him for nearly _four_ hours now! It is almost time for dinner! We were playing hide-and-seek, but I cannot find him!"

Heimdall laughed. "Why do you not just shout that you wish to end the game and let him win?"

Thor looked at the man like he had grown a third eye. "You think I would admit defeat so easily?! There is no honour in giving up!"

The guardian laughed again. "And asking an all-seeing guard where he is is somehow more honourable? No, Thor, I suggest you keep looking. Or admit defeat. If it has truly been four hours, I am sure none will hold it against you."

Thor moaned unhappily. "I shall ask my friends to assist me. But I _will_ _not_ give up!"

Heimdall nodded. "Do as you please, my prince. I wish you luck in your quest."

"A fat lot of good luck is..." He grumbled.

Heimdall had a reason to smile as he turned his gaze back to the galaxies, watching for intruders.

Thor ran off to find The Warriors Three and Sif, with his bother tailing him silently like a shadow, grinning so widely one would think his face would crack from it.

Their friends were found by the arena, resting after an impressive bout that ended with Sif as the winner. The warrior maiden was extremely proud of herself, and grinned when the two princes came running in.

"Hello, friends!" Came the boisterous cry of the first prince, beaming at them all. "I must ask something of you, if you will help me!"

Fandral smiled lightly. "Of course, my dear Thor! What are friends for?"

Sif nodded her golden head as well. "What do you need help with?" She was eyeing the second prince questioningly. He never usually remained this quiet around them. And if they needed help, why was Thor asking, and not Loki? The younger prince generally did the talking. He put a finger to his lips, which only confused her more.

Thor looked embarrassed. "My brother and I were having a game of hide-and-seek, you see. He promised not to leave the first floor of the castle, but I have searched everywhere! I cannot find my brother, and it has been nearly _four_ hours already! Please help me, friends."

There was a stunned second of silence, and then the four friends broke out into laughter. They couldn't help it, this was absolutely ridiculous!

Thor looked offended. "Why do you laugh? Did you not just say you would help?"

Sif was doubled over, but she managed to speak. "Oh, Thor... Lo-look beh-hind you!" Her shoulders shook in mirth.

The stunned prince turned around slowly, to find his brother grinning back at him. "... Loki?"

The smaller boy couldn't help it, he joined the others as they laughed.

Thor was dumbstruck. "Have you been here the whole time?"

Loki just laughed harder. "No, brother. I have been following behind you! You never thought to look back and check!"

The Warriors Three and Sif were sent into a renewed bout of laughter at this.

Thor still looked perplexed. "But... How... Four hours, brother!" Thor glared at the younger boy. "Why would you make a fool of me for so long?!"

Loki shook his head at his older brother. "Hardly. It's only been three and a half hours. You know I've kept up jokes for longer than that! And you could have turned around any time you wanted, it's not my fault that you didn't!" The boy was still grinning.

Fandral finally managed to breathe. "By the Norns, Loki. Sometimes you are just too much! Good show, good show."

The second prince bowed in response, beaming. "I do my best, dear Fandral."

Thor was red in the face, to think, his brother had made such a fool out of him! He glowered at the grinning boy, and tackled him to the ground.

"Ack! Get off, Thor!" The second prince tried in vain to squirm out of his brother's grip.

Thor did not let go. "No, brother. First you must promise to never do such a thing again!"

Loki continued to struggle, the two of them rolling around in the arena's dirt field. "Why should I? It was only a game, and I'd say my strategy worked very well!"

Thor looked his brother in the eye. "I thought I'd lost you forever! Next time you must not worry me so!"

The younger brother stopped struggling for a second to scoff at him. "That's ridiculous, Thor! Mother, Father, _and _Heimdallall told you that you could find me! I obviously wasn't _gone_." He did look slightly touched by his brother's concern, however.

Sif broke in. "If you two don't stop wrestling, you'll get your nice clothes all ruined, and have to take a bath before dinner. And really? Both your parents, and _Heimdall_ did not tell you where Loki was?"

Loki grinned at her. "Father almost did, but they all thought it was as funny as I did! You were the only ones I couldn't convince to play along in time. But I don't mind, I was getting bored of following him anyways."

Thor finally let him go, sulking. "Let us just go dine already. I am hungry after all this."

The two princes picked themselves up and dusted themselves off. The Warriors Three finally managed to breathe again.

Volstagg grinned. "A fine idea indeed! We should prepare the finest boar in the kingdom in order to celebrate Thor having finally found his brother!"

Fandral chuckled. "You think only of your stomach, my dear friend."

Hogun nodded solemnly. "He is right."

Volstagg laughed. "Perhaps that is true, but it does not change my suggestion!"

The brothers laughed at this. "I think boar can be arranged, Volstagg." Thor grinned, his previous anger forgotten. He picked up Loki, tossing the boy over his shoulder. "And this time, I shall not let my brother out of my sight!"

Loki squirmed, pounding his fists on Thor's back. "Unhand me! I demand to be put down this instant!" He was laughing though, making his 'demands' much less convincing.

Thor shook his head, starting off towards the palace. "Not until we are in the dining hall, brother. I will not allow you to run off again!"

Loki gave up on escaping, crossing his arms and pouting. Thor always was stronger than him, he _is_ a century older. "I didn't run off, and I was not planning on disappearing."

Thor grinned. "So you say, brother."

Sif laughed at that. "And we all know that what Loki says and does are two very different things!"

The six of them all laughed, heading back towards the palace with loud and lively banter filling the night.

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**AN: **

**Since the movies puts Loki at about 1,100 years old (from the monologue at the beginning of Thor 1, it says the frost giant battle that Odin found Loki in took place in 900 AD), I'm going to assume that Thor is somewhere around 1,200 years old. And since They look to be in their twenties in the movies, I'm going to say that 1 Midgardian year= 50 Asgardian years.**

**Also, in Thor 2, while Loki is arguing about immortality with Odin, he says "give or take five thousand years." And with a long human lifespan currently being about 100 years;**

**100 • 50 = 5,000**

**So I'm using that as support as well. #ILoveMath**

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**If you give me an idea, I'll be sure to give you credit if I write about it!**

**I'll keep this story's status as 'Complete', since every chapter will be a complete story of its own. But go ahead and follow it if you want to know when I add a new oneshot.**

**Maybe it's not that strange, but usually my chapters are MEGA SUPER LONG, and I'm weirdly proud of the fact that this was only 1,000-something words. I managed to write something that doesn't take over an hour to read! Woot!**

**Reviewers get a hug-tackle from Thor.**


	2. Do you remember none of that?

_"__We were raised together, we played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?__"_

_-Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Avengers (2012)_

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**AN: Warning: Frozen reference! (Just the one though)**

**SECOND WARNING: YOU MAY EXPERIENCE SERIOUS FEELS, OR EXTREME AMUSEMENT. IT REALLY DEPENDS WHAT KIND OF A PERSON YOU ARE. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these guys!**

**Another! Enjoy!**

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"I'm boooooored." Thor flopped himself on Loki's bed, waking the latter up.

Loki sat up, rubbing his eyes disorientedly. It took him a few seconds to figure out what the heavy weight on top of him was, and when he did, he tried to shove his brother off. "Go away, Thor." He hid his head under his covers and tried to fall asleep again.

Thor merely rolled from his back onto his stomach. "But brother, I'm boreeeeeeeeed!"

Loki tried to kick him unsuccessfully. "I can hardly see how that's my problem. Go back to sleep if being awake bores you."

Thor rolled onto his back again. "But brother!" He started dramatically, throwing his arm up to his forehead. "The sun is awake, so now _I_ am awake! So now we have to play!" He turned his head, grinning at the lump in the green bed sheets. The sun had only barely risen over the horizon, casting a pale light into the room through the window.

Loki pulled the sheets down for a moment in order to give Thor a look of pure exasperation. "_That._ Is your reasoning?" His brother nodded, grinning idiotically. Loki sighed, giving up. "I suppose you aren't going to let me sleep anymore today?" Thor shook his head in the negative. Loki groaned. "Then give me a minute to dress myself, at least."

Thor jumped up, his grin widening further, if it were even possible. "You are the best brother ever! I mean it!"

Loki rolled his eyes, sliding out of bed in only a tunic and stretching. "I am the only brother you've ever had! Now leave me before I change my mind."

Thor bolted for the door. "Of course!" He knew that his brother would follow through with the threat if he didn't comply right away. Thor was already dressed, he had likely done so while Loki was still sleeping.

Loki shook his head, grinning. His brother was idiotic, gullible, and many other things, but he could always be counted on to make Loki smile. Loki decided that Thor deserved to do something _really_ fun today, for his imaginative, albeit ridiculous excuse to get up this early. Anyways, it gave the second prince an excuse to finally take him, and possibly their friends, to the weirdest spot he'd found on the map.

As soon as his brother was out of their shared room, Loki locked the door. His brother was likely to barge right in as soon as he got bored of waiting, and that could be anywhere from seconds to... More seconds.

He dressed himself in a loose white cloth tunic, along with snug dark green leather trousers. He chose a belt and used it over top of his tunic, attaching two sheathes for his daggers to it. By then the door was jiggling with Thor's efforts to get inside. Loki unlocked it and stepped to the side as his brother tumbled in.

Thor looked his brother up and down skeptically after he got back up from his fall. "Those are rather common clothes, are we going on an adventure?" He scratched his head, trying to think of what else those clothes might mean. There was also an expression of reserved excitement on his face, he obviously hoped they would be exploring some new place.

Loki smiled devilishly. "You'll see. Will we be inviting Sif and The Warriors Three?" He tossed Thor a worn grey cloak with a hood, pulling a similar brown one out for himself.

Thor shrugged, putting the simple cloak on over his royal clothing. "I suppose, if they are willing. Are we going to tell father about this?" He was half-hoping the answer was yes, because the alternative meant that either it was too mundane or too dangerous. He might be happy if it was the latter, however.

Loki sensed what he meant with this question. "No, we shall be sneaking out. It is still quite early, we can get away with it, and for once I think it would be a good idea to bring our friends along." His pale green eyes shone with mischief.

Thor's face once more split into a grin. "Then I shall ask them right away!" He bounced in apprehensive excitement. Loki always found exciting places to explore outside the city, they were going on an adventure! "Will you pack my things for me?" He gave his brother his best puppy-dog eyes.

Loki sighed. "Of course I will. But hurry, the others will need to pack as well. You must also make them swear to secrecy, whether they agree to come or not."

Thor hugged him tightly. "You really are the best brother anyone could ask for!"

Loki couldn't help but grin. "_Go on_, get the others already. It will not take long before the whole castle is awake, especially if you carry on shouting like that." Loki slipped out of the hug easily, having perfected it by now. "Meet me at the baked goods shop when everyone is ready."

"I shan't forget, brother! I will meet you there soon!" He drew his frayed hood up over his eyes so that he would not be recognised. Then he ran off to get the others.

Loki got to work collecting what they would need, and then sprinted to the weapons vault to retrieve Thor's sword, since he had clearly forgotten. He also collected a few daggers, just in case he needed them.

He arrived at the Baker's shop well before the others, but he didn't expect them to beat him anyways. Thor might have a job convincing them, especially Sif and Volstagg. He pulled the hood closer about his face, hoping that no one would notice him. Normally, cloaks as worn as these would be burned, or at least donated once they had become so used. But Thor and Loki had saved these for occasions such as this, when they need to get around unnoticed.

Loki had also taken the liberty to look up a few spells to cast on them so that they repelled attention. He wasn't exactly a _master_ of magic, but he did seem to have a strange talent for it, and it was an amusing pastime for him when Thor wasn't up for fighting practice or adventuring. He hadn't told Thor or anyone about it yet, since he didn't think it was anything he'd ever take seriously. Also, men using magic was distinctly frowned upon in Asgard. It was considered a woman's trade.

Loki waited for his brother and friends, and watched the Baker open shop. She was usually the first person in town to wake up, since bread-making took a lot of time. Loki liked the bread maker, she was nice, and always gave children the first bread loaves of the day if they came early enough for it. This was part of the reason he had chosen to meet here.

By the time he spotted five hooded figures heading towards him down the street, he could smell the fresh bread that was nearly finished in the oven. As the others reached him, the Baker put the bread out to cool down some.

Thor bounded up to his brother like an excited golden retriever. "Brother, our friends have all agreed to join us!"

Volstagg took a deep breath through the nose. "What an absolutely delightful smell! I do hope that we will stop for breakfast soon." He rubbed his stomach in appreciation of the bread's smell wafting through the air.

Fandral laughed. "You truly never stop thinking about that appetite of yours, do you? I'm sure Loki wants to get started right away, don't you, my friend?"

Loki shook his head, smiling a little. "Actually, I was hoping for breakfast here before we leave as well. That's why we're meeting here. I would not taunt Volstagg so, with such a delicious smell."

Volstagg grinned. "Well, it is good to know that at least one of us shares my interests! Let us eat, and then we will have an adventure to tell tales about for ages to come!"

Everyone laughed at that, and they went to buy bread, but the Baker insisted that they just take it, since they asked so nicely. The six thanked her and each took a loaf, then followed Loki away.

Sif was grinning good-naturedly. "Loki, where are we going that is so dangerous that you must fatten us up and put us in good humour before?"

Volstagg laughed heartily. "Whatever you are plotting, young prince, it is working spectacularly."

Loki feigned a look of hurt. "Now, why can't you all believe that I enjoy fresh bread as much as any of you do?"

Fandral chuckled, placing a hand on the second prince's back. "We would all believe you more often if you gave us reason to, Loki. Now tell us, what place have you found for us to venture forth to?"

Loki rolled his eyes. "Really, I am not _that_ bad."

Sif covered up a laugh. "I beg to differ, prince of mischief."

He groaned. "You all will never let that die. But fine, I shall tell you of our destination." He whipped out his map, and the others crowded around to look. "You see this spot?" He pointed to a rather large area of blank space in the middle of the forest. "All around there is forest, and the rest of the map has such clearings labelled. But here there is nothing, no name, no drawing, nothing. We are going to find out what is in this place. It could be anything from bilgesnipes to dragons!"

The others looked excited, although Sif and Volstagg were leaning more towards apprehensive.

Thor's laughter boomed. "Surely if it is not labelled, then it must be interesting!" He sobered for a moment. "Perhaps it is left blank because no one has come back to tell of what resides there?"

A visible shiver passed through the group of youngsters.

Volstagg was the most responsible of the group, acting as the oldest, though he, Fandral, and Hogun had all been born on the same day. Everyone looked to him to decide on whether they should proceed. He took a thoughtful bite of his bread loaf. "I see no reason to worry. If it was such a danger, would the map not label it as such? I say we go, if only to give Loki something to write in that blank space on his map."

Loki had chosen his meeting place well.

The two princes grinned, that meant Hogun and Fandral were going for sure, those three were entirely inseparable. They looked expectantly at Sif, who looked torn.

The golden-haired warrior maiden's doubts seemed to crumble under those two's pleading stare. "Oh, all right. I shall accompany you, if only to make certain that you don't die from your own stupidity."

Thor gave her a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you, Sif! An adventure would not be the same without you!" He looked at the warriors three. "Any of you!"

Fandral laughed somewhat nervously. "We would never leave you two to go off on your own. You find trouble like no one else, we can't leave you alone and defenceless!"

Thor laughed loudly. "We are not defenceless, dear Fandral! I am a mighty warrior with my sword!" He went to reach for it, then looked embarrassed. "Uh, sword?"

Loki barely hid a laugh in his sleeve. "I knew you would forget it, brother. Here you are." He tossed Thor the belt with sword and sheathe attached.

The older of the two caught it, smiling sheepishly. "See, we are not defenceless, and Loki is always prepared! Even if I am... Less so."

The other five children laughed at that, until Sif spoke up. "The way you are trying to convince us, we may begin to think you don't _want_ us to come and help you!"

Thor looked panicked for a second. "No, that is not what I meant, Sif!" He looked at her helplessly.

Loki shook his head. "Brother, you should really leave the talking to me. Everyone knows that you meant that you can defend yourself perfectly well if you need to, but you do feel much safer and happier with your valiant friends besides you, yes?" Loki looked around expectantly at their friends.

Everyone, including Thor nodded. Loki had a way of wording things so that there wasn't much room for argument.

Thor grinned. "Exactly! Now, shall we get underway?" They had reached the edge of the city already, and no one had noticed that they had stopped before scaling the wall to get to the forest.

Loki looked around suspiciously. "Strange... Is there not usually a guard near here?"

Hogun nodded. "Yes. But now is the time to change guards. The new ones have not come yet."

Sif raised an eyebrow. "Nice speech, Hogun." It was strange for him to say so much, he generally chose to say nothing. But he looked interested in the guard post, and everyone was reminded that his father was a Einherjer, and he probably knew a lot more than they did about the guards changing.

Hogun nodded to acknowledge Sif.

Loki smiled appreciatively. "Then let's take this stroke of good fortune as an opportunity to climb over quickly. Thor, a hand?" The lowest part of the wall was smooth, but higher up were stones cemented together that formed hand and footholds they could use to climb the rest of the way. Loki pulled out a length of rope from his pack, which he wound into a large, loose loop. He threw the thing over his head, and pulled one arm through, letting it rest over his torso from one shoulder. He handed his bag to Thor.

Thor knew that Loki was the most adept climber of them all. He was nearly as tall as Thor, despite the age difference. But what he had in height, he lacked in weight, and that made it easier for him to pull himself upwards. The first prince stood near the wall, leaning down with his fingers intertwined to make a place for Loki to step so that Thor could lift him up.

With graceful practice, the second prince was lifted up, and made a perfect leap the rest of the way and found suitable hand and footholds on the wall. He scaled the wall in under a minute, then tied the rope to a cannon mount, tossing the rest of it down to his friends.

They all climbed quickly, then they tossed the rope to the other side of the wall and climbed down. Loki waited for them all to be safe on the ground before he untied the rope. He glanced at the other side of the wall, then threw himself flat down on top of it.

His brother and friends listened apprehensively. There were a few shouts, then silence as if someone were listening for something. Eventually whoever it was decided they hadn't seen anything.

Loki held his breath, praying that the guards hadn't seen him. Hopefully his enchanted cloak would do its job. They had been awfully close to the wall when he had finally noticed them approaching.

He thanked the Norns when they seemed to think they had imagined him, or had seen a bird, and he inched to the far edge, then climbed down as silently and carefully as he could. When he reached the smooth part, Volstagg moved into place to catch him, and he jumped down to safety.

"That was rather close. They nearly saw me that time." Loki whispered to the others, looking elated. He rubbed his hands to warm them up after climbing on the cold stones.

Sif frowned. "One would think that you _want_ to be caught, Loki. You should have paid closer attention, you knew they were coming." She looked at the second prince with more concern than anger as she chastised him.

He laughed quietly. "Well, what's the fun of an adventure without a little risk?" He grinned, then got a serious look. "We should hurry, they'll be checking over the wall any moment now."

Thor nodded, and gestured for the rest to follow him into the forest. He had taken the time while they waited for Loki in order to find the path they were to use from the map. Once they were well on the trail, with the wall behind them forgotten, Thor tossed his brother's bag back to him. Loki caught it deftly. It was a while before they felt they were safe enough to speak again. The forest outside the city tends to make those within it more cautious than is strictly necessary.

Fandral let out a breath he had forgotten he was holding. "So, friends. What do you think we will find at this blank area on the map? Maybe it is a Jötun camp!"

Thor laughed. "That is ridiculous, friend! Any Jötun would never be allowed to get so close to the castle!" He pulled out his sword and swung it in front of him. "My father would smite them all!"

Loki grinned with his brother. "But if it is Jötuns, we will be heralded as true heroes for killing them all! Father would be so pleased!" He tossed an elegant dagger up and caught it with the tip pressed between two fingers. He repeated the action, catching it by the hilt.

Volstagg shook his head. "Oh no, if there are Jötun in this forest, _you,_" he pointed at Loki, "are not fighting them."

Loki looked like his pet had just died. "What?! _Why not_?!" He made a mistake and got a small cut on his hand from his dagger.

Thor looked equally perplexed. "Why should he not be allowed to fight? Loki can hold his own against any of us in our training!"

Volstagg shook his head adamantly, and Sif joined him. "Loki is too young." He turned towards the pleading second prince. "You are hardly past two and a half centuries old, my prince. You should not even bear a weapon until you have aged three centuries. I will not allow you to do battle."

"We don't want to see you get hurt, Loki." Sif added, looking at the indignant prince sympathetically. She had only recently been allowed to do battle and go on hunting trips.

The youngest of the group sighed frustratedly, putting away his dagger before he cut himself again. "I am not a _child_. I train with all of you! And I am just as tall as Thor!" He added, as if that settled it.

Hogun shook his head. "Jötuns are too dangerous, Loki."

Thor looked sadly at his brother. "I must agree, brother. The Jötun are known for their merciless brutality and their brute strength. It would not be safe for you, and I could never forgive myself if you died so young, especially at their hands."

Fandral coughed. "It's not likely to be Jötuns anyways. That was simply a wild guess. Does anyone else want to guess at what might be there? Why don't we have a wager?"

That pulled Loki out of his frustration. "What kind of wager?" He asked, suddenly interested.

Thor jumped on the opportunity. "We should have dares! Everyone makes a guess at what they think it is, and whoever is closest doesn't have to do the dare that we come up with together now." He looked around for approval.

Everyone but Volstagg nodded eagerly. He was busy thinking about what he would guess. And perhaps food.

Loki spoke first. "I wager that there is a cave!"

Hogun spoke next. "I say there is a clearing."

Fandral grinned. "I say there is a lady!"

Sif shook her head. "I wager we find an old tree."

Volstagg spoke before Thor could. "I say there is food!"

Thor paused for a second, then grinned widely. "I say we find a lady living in a cave in a clearing with an old fruit tree!"

Everyone laughed for a good while after that, still walking. Loki was the first to catch his breath. "At least we all know who _won't_ win this!"

Fandral wiped a tear away. "Indeed! Why have you doomed yourself, Thor?"

Thor smiled charismatically. "I only intend to be correct if _all_ of my friends are correct!"

Fandral clapped him on the back. "Good man, Thor."

Loki's grin turned mischievous. "We should decide Thor's dare first, since he will need it most."

Thor gave his brother a pitiful look. "Please do remember that I will only need my dare if any one of you are wrong."

Everyone paused at that, and even Loki looked somewhat ashamed for what he'd been planning.

"Perhaps then, we should decide on Thor last." Volstagg suggested.

Loki nodded along with the rest. "I volunteer to go first, in that case. Since I spoke first."

Sif grinned. "Walk behind while we decide, Loki."

The boy grimaced, but complied. He never did like knowing things after everyone else.

The other five huddled up, then broke apart a minute later grinning with looks of mischief that could rival those of Loki himself.

Loki took this as an invitation to rejoin them. "All right, spit it out then." He was playing nonchalantly with his dagger again.

Sif laughed. "Loki, if there is no cave, then once we return to the castle, you must paint yourself entirely blue and run through the gardens yelling 'you can't catch me! I'm a scary Jötun!' And roaring at people for good measure."

Loki couldn't hide his horror. He stopped in his tracks and the dagger fell from his grip. "You... You..." The others snickered as he tried to regain his ability to speak. "... You must be joking." He turned to Thor pleadingly. "Please tell me that you only jest!"

Thor's eyes twinkled with humour. "Now brother, that would be a falsehood."

Loki looked miserable. "There had better be a cave. Otherwise I shall set this whole forest on fire." He glared halfheartedly at the others. "You will all be sorry for this. You next, Hogun."

Hogun nodded, trying and failing to hide a smile. He fell back and waited for the verdict on his dare.

A few moments later they broke apart once more. Sif again announced their decision. "Hogun, if there is no clearing, then for an entire day, you must not be quiet for more than fifteen minutes. You must also use at least ten words with more than three syllables. If you fail at any point, then your day restarts. Day counts as from the time the sun rises to the time it sets."

Hogun spluttered for several seconds before regaining his usual stoic demeanour. "Better be a clearing. Fandral?" He gestured behind himself and joined the rest.

Fandral was grinning as he fell back. It didn't take long before they called him over. Loki looked like he wasn't sure whether he should laugh or scowl.

Sif stepped forward to speak again. "If there is no lady at our destination, then at the next feast, Fandral, you must declare that you intend to marry a Jötun maiden. And the whole night you must continue to insist this. Also, if Loki had to do his dare, then you must insist that you fell in love with the Jötun running through the gardens, and that you would do anything to meet her."

The others, minus Loki, were snickering uncontrollably. Fandral looked like he had been slapped, and stood dumbstruck for a moment before catching back up to them. "Surely you could think of something better..." Everyone disagreed, and he sighed. "Ah, then... I suppose it is your turn, Lady Sif."

She fell back cautiously, refusing to look away from them while they decided on her dare. It was a while before they broke apart for the fourth time. Loki spoke this time.

"You must promise not to hit me, lady Sif. I swear this was not my idea." Loki held his hands up as he walked backwards so he could face her. "If there is not an old tree, you must wear a very girly dress for a day, and you must also beg Freya to allow you to be her apprentice. Regardless of whether she agrees or disagrees, you must run home crying and yelling 'I'm not worthy!'"

Sif looked like she might just hit him regardless of whether it was his idea or not. "You jest."

Loki shook his head apologetically. "I fear not, Lady Sif."

She sighed heavily. "I swear, if there is not an old tree, I will destroy whatever we find right then and there. Go on, Volstagg."

He fell back somewhat reluctantly, eyeing the murderous look on Sif's face.

It was hardly ten seconds before they broke up and waved him forward again. Volstagg was unsure of whether this was a good sign or a bad one.

Loki stepped forward again. Apparently Sif was still too upset to speak anymore. "Volstagg, if there is no food present, you must go an entire week without eating any boar."

"_WHAT?!_" Volstagg appeared distraught. "My friends, how could you choose such an awful punishment for me?!"

Fandral laughed dryly. "It is no worse than any of ours so far, my friend. Come now, we must decide Thor's dare!"

As Thor left them, his five friends decided his fate. It took them a long time. He was wringing his hands in apprehension by the time they called for him to join them.

Loki once more turned back to face the victim. "Now Thor, we thought really hard about this one. If there isn't... What did you say? A lady living in a cave in a clearing with an old fruit tree, yes?" Thor nodded. "If you are incorrect, then for an entire month, you must trade your sword out for only weapons that double as cooking utensils. You will not be allowed to battle or train with anything else. Understood?"

Thor groaned, but he knew it was not as bad as it could be. "You all better be right then. I hope that none of us should have to participate in any of this."

Everyone wholeheartedly agreed.

Loki nodded and checked the map again. He looked around, then spoke up. "It won't be long before we find out. We are rather close. Just past these last few bends..." He drifted off when a light shone through the branches. The sun was nearly at its peak already.

They saw an opening from the forest, and after looking at each other for a second, they raced towards it. There was an elegant archway formed by two young trees. They burst through, and tumbled into a large clearing. They beheld the sight before them, then they all looked at Thor incredulously, and he laughed loudly.

The large clearing they burst into surrounded a small cluster of _very_ old apple trees. Nestled within the old trees was a small cave formed from branches and vines. A beautiful woman was emerging from the cave, approaching the youngsters in a friendly manner.

Thor couldn't help laughing, and he didn't stop, even when the woman spoke. _"Greetings, Children. I am the guardian of Idunn's apple grove."_

After a moment, all six of them were laughing. Whether it was from relief, or genuine mirth, no one could tell. But the guardian was certainly growing more confused by the moment.

It was a long time before they finally stopped, by which time the guardian was eyeing them skeptically.

It was an even longer time before they finished explaining themselves.

And it was almost sundown before they left to return to Asgard, each carrying several juicy golden apples with them as gifts of appeasement to the Allfather. The princes' father would not be pleased to hear of what they had done.

Thor turned back to them on the way back. "Let us agree to never speak of this again, my friends."

No one argued.

* * *

**AN: Aaahaha plot twiiiist.**

**I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review! Tell me if you have suggestions, and follow for updates on new one shots!**

**Exact ages:**

**Thor: 356 (equivalent of seven)  
****Loki: 266 (equivalent of five)  
****Sif: 302 (equivalent of six)  
****The Warriors Three: 451 (equivalent of nine) (they were all born in the same year, on the same day, by different parents. Which is extremely strange, since births are a rare occasion on Asgard, considering their long lifespans *CoughUnderstatementOfTheCenturyCough* Which is part of the reason as to why they are nearly inseparable.)**

**Sigh, so much for short one shots. Oh, well. *throws five thousand words at you***

**Reviewers get to hold Loki's map.**


	3. Tricks and Illusions

_"Thor! After all this time now you come to visit me! Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?"  
"Enough, Loki! No more illusions." [Everything fades to show hobo Loki]  
"Now you see me, Brother!"  
-Thor and Loki, Thor: The Dark World (2013)_

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**Disclaimer: Sorry, nope. still don't own any of this. **

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It had only been a few hours and they were already bored out of their minds.

After their latest stunt, the Asgardian princes were to be grounded to their room for a whole week. Their meals were brought to them, though they would not receive dinner until the punishment was over. Odin was upset indeed.

Loki laid sprawled out on the bed. "I'm blaming you for this. It was your idea." He stared at the ceiling, seeing how long he could do so without blinking. Neither of them had spoken since being sent to their rooms, and it was grating on the smaller boy's nerves.

Thor was being uncharacteristically quiet sitting in his bed on the other side of the room. "I didn't see you trying to stop me, Loki. You were happy to help, if I recall correctly. We are both equally responsible."

Loki snorted. "Well if you hadn't-"

Thor growled and banged his fist angrily on the wall. Loki cut whatever he was going to say short and bolted upright with fright. "_Enough_, Loki!" Thor flinched at the terrified look his brother was giving him. "... Sorry." He looked away. "I just don't wish to start an argument. If we are to stay in here for an entire week, then it is best that we don't spend it being angry with one another."

Loki relaxed. "You are right. I apologise as well. I should have known mother and father would be angry with us. It is my job to make sure you don't do anything stupid, after all."

Thor gave his little brother an appreciative smile. It was easy to forget which one was the elder brother sometimes, and the fact that they were the same height didn't help at all. Loki was so much more clever and mature than his older brother, despite hardly having entered boyhood. "Do not be so hard on yourself. Neither of us could have predicted their anger."

Loki nodded in agreement, then flopped back down to stare at the ceiling again.

They were quiet for another several minutes before Thor broke the silence again. "Surely there must be something entertaining we can do in this room. Do you have any ideas?"

Loki's eyes were closed. "Go to sleep? We won't be receiving dinner. And the sun is _almost_ close to setting soon."

Thor groaned loudly. "No dinner for a _week_. This is torture." He declared, as if it were suddenly official. "Is there truly nothing we can do? I would rather clean the stables by hand than spend another moment sitting idle."

Loki hesitated, as if thinking. "Well, mother an father took our playthings, but not the books."

Thor scoffed. "Only you would find reading amusing, brother."

"That's not what I meant." The younger boy hopped off his bed and crouched down, reaching under it."

Thor's curiosity was now piqued. "What are books for, if not to read?" He left his own bed to join his brother on the floor across the room.

Loki pulled out a large, dusty volume. "Well, yes, there _is_ reading involved. But not the kind that you're thinking of." He blew some of the dust off. "It's what the reading _does_ that might alleviate our boredom." He gave his brother a furtive glance before pulling the heavy thing over to a table.

Thor's eyes were glued to the cover of the book as he read the runes. "Learning to... Loki, is that a magic book?" The younger one nodded hesitantly. "Where do you get it?" Thor shook his head. "Never mind, why do you have it?"

Loki bit his lip. "I... Well... About half a century ago, I saw mother using magic to get something from up high, and I was curious..." He looked embarrassed. "I asked her how she did it, and she taught me the spell. She was surprised by how quickly I learned how to use it, so she gave me a few books in case I ever wanted to learn more. She says I have a talent for magic."

Thor stared at his brother incredulously. "So did you?"

Loki didn't seem to understand the question. "Did I what?"

Thor pointed to the book. "Learn more magic! Have you read the books at all?"

Loki smiled, looking a little relieved. "Just a few spells, yes. You aren't going to laugh at me?"

Thor shook his head, looking confused. "Why would I? You can't choose your talents!"

Loki wrung his hands together. "But magic is for women! It wouldn't be proper for a Prince of Asgard to practice sorcery!"

Thor shook his head. "A Prince of Asgard should be able to do whatever he likes! Do you like magic, Loki? Do you enjoy using it?"

Loki gave his brother a tentative smile. "I... Yes. I enjoy it a lot."

Thor grinned. "Then show me how it is done, brother!"

Loki grinned in return, then quickly hugged his brother. "I can't be the best brother ever, Thor. That title belongs to you!"

Before he could retreat, Thor returned the embrace. It was rare to receive such a sign of affection from the younger boy. Loki squirmed away quickly, still grinning.

"Would you like to choose a spell? I haven't tried most of these." He gestured to the book.

Thor nodded, then opened up the heavy spellbook. "Hmmm... This one." He pointed at a spell on the fifth page that said it could change the appearance of their surroundings.

Loki read the description, then the spell itself, mouthing the words in concentration. He looked up. "Where do you want it to look like?"

Thor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Show me... Show me what you imagine Alfheim looks like."

Loki grinned, appreciating the challenge. "Close your eyes."

Thor obeyed.

Loki also closed his eyes, and whispered the spell he had just committed to memory. "_Hva mitt sinn ser er nå hva du se_."

There was a flash of sudden light that turned Thor's eyelids red to his closed eyes. When the flash was gone, both boys opened their eyes to gawk at their surroundings disbelievingly.

Loki grinned, looking at the golden fields full of flowers of every colour; the waterfalls in the distance glimmering in the warm light; the cloudless, clear sky with a red-orange sun setting on the horizon, even the sounds of gentle waves lapping at a clean white beach not far off... It was all exactly as he had pictured it. The spell worked flawlessly.

Thor was, for once, completely speechless, and kept looking from the illusion to his brother, the look on his face simply priceless.

Eventually Thor shut his mouth, looking for something to say. "... Wow. This is... _Wow_."

Loki covered a laugh. "How articulate, Thor."

"It's just so beautiful... You thought all this up?" He finally settled his eyes back on the small boy standing next to him.

Loki shook his head. "Mother tells me of Aflheim sometimes. This is only what she has described to me." He smiled, looking around at his work. "It sounds simply beautiful. I truly wish to visit there one day."

Thor sighed, sitting down on the grass he swore he could _feel_. "I as well, brother. It is said to be a spectacular place of nature and beauty." He reached to pick a flower, and the illusion complied, interacting with the boy as if it was as real as he was.

Loki laid down next to him, staring at the endless sky that was darkening into night. "If only we were allowed out of Asgard..."

Thor nodded. "Someday we will be allowed to make diplomatic visits, brother. But if only we could go on _adventures_. Like the Einherjers and sailors and traders."

Loki sighed sadly. "I agree, brother. Entirely. But as princes it is our job to remain here and attend to matters of diplomacy. When we come of age, we will be writing treatises and learning the ways of other realms. The Warriors Three and Sif will be the ones hunting wild beasts and returning to regale us with stories of their adventures." He met his brother's eyes. "You know this, there is no use in wishing to have been born someone different."

Thor nodded sadly. "I know what is expected well, brother. Though I wish we could change it. Perhaps someday we can prove that Princes can do more than dress impeccably and have perfect manners." He grimaced. "I never liked manners, anyways."

Loki laughed lightly at that. "Somehow, that does not surprise me in the least. Perhaps, someday, we will. We've snuck away from the castle before, so why not the realm?"

Thor didn't answer, smiling knowingly at his brother.

A shooting star fell in the illusion's inky night sky. Thor shut his eyes. "Close your eyes and make a wish, Loki!"

Loki shook his head and complied, not bothering to remind his brother that it was only an illusion.

They didn't speak any more than that, and Loki fell asleep under his imagined night sky, forgetting to release the spell. Thor snored quietly next to him, and together they dreamed of glorious battles they might one day have.

It was peaceful.

Until, that is, they were woken up with a loud crash.

"What in the nine realms-!" The servant which had come to bring their breakfast stared in shock at what appeared to be an entire realm inside the door to the princes' bedroom.

The boys jolted awake, rubbing their eyes groggily. Sometime during the night, Thor had wrapped his brother up in his arms, and now Loki tried to pry himself free.

The servant stared at them. "What is all this?!" She gestured to the illusion.

Loki suddenly seemed to realise what the problem was. He cursed quietly under his breath, and finally dispelled it with a wave of his hand and a little concentration.

The servant looked slightly relieved. "Thank the Norns. Now, what was that?"

Loki looked at Thor before answering. "Magic." He stood up. "You dropped our breakfast all over the floor, Räna. Please do be more careful."

She looked at him curiously. "Of course, my prince. I was surprised. I apologise for my mistake. I shall have this cleaned up right away, and will be back with more in a moment." She turned to leave.

Loki called to her as she walked out. "Thank you! I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell our parents about this as well, Lady Räna."

She smiled back at him. "There is nothing to tell, Prince Loki." She curtsied and hurried away.

Loki looked at Thor, shaking his head. "Let's _not_ do that again. Promise me that you'll remind me to end the illusion next time."

Thor grinned. "Only as long as you promise that there _will_ be a next time!"

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**AN: Don't forget to review! I listen to your suggestions!**

**Follow for more shenanigans and fluff and adventures and whateveryouwantthatyouaskmetowrite**

**Yay for another short chapter! Only 2000 ish words this time!**

**Those magic words, btw, are just Norweigan. #GoogleTranslateFTW**

**_Hva mitt sinn ser er nå hva du se-_"What my mind sees is what you now behold"**

**Reviewers get to make a wish on an illusion-shooting star.**


	4. Am I Cursed?

"STOP!"

_"Am I cursed?"_

_"No,"_

_"What am I?"_

_"You are my son."_

_"... What more than that? _

_... The Casket wasn't the only thing you took for Jötunheim that day, was it?_

_"... No."_

_-Loki and Odin, Thor (2011)_

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**AN: ****Oneshot prompted by ****heavenlygothicgirl****. I hope you like it!**

**Warning: Major feels/angst in this one. THE FLUFF AND ANGST ARE SUFFOCATING ME. HALP.**

**Other Warning: Frozen referencesssss**

**[Insert standard acknowledgement of non-ownership here]**

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"Thor?"

Loki poked his brother a few times, waiting for him to wake up.

"Mmmnmhhmmph?" The first prince made a noise into his pillow, slowly coming to.

"Brother?" Loki shook his shoulder.

Thor rolled, rubbing his eyes blearily. He looked out the window, scowling when he saw it was still the middle of the night. He made an undignified yawn/groan. "Unnnnmmmph, 's still dar' ou'side. Go ba' ta bed." He tried to pull the covers over his head.

Loki didn't let him. "But Thor, I had a nightmare." He shook his brother's shoulder again urgently.

Thor pulled the covers back down, finally noticing the panicked look on his brother's face. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs, then pulled the covers off and made room for Loki. "Come here, I'll keep you safe from the monsters."

Loki climbed into bed with his brother, snuggling into his warmth. Thor never seemed to have nightmares, but Loki had them sometimes. He didn't know where they came from, but there were always monsters with glowing red eyes. And it was cold, so, so cold. But when Thor was beside him, he felt safe. The monsters didn't come while his warmth protected him.

Thor rubbed the back of his neck affectionately. "Was it them again?"

Loki nodded into his brother's shoulder, hoping he wouldn't notice the tears. "The cold things with red eyes. Why do I dream of them, what _are_ they?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Thor held his brother close. "I do not know, Loki. But you are safe now, they are not real. I will protect you."

Loki turned to meet Thor's eyes. "Forever?"

His brother stroked his short dark hair reassuringly. "Forever and ever."

That seemed to calm Loki down enough for him to close his eyes. He curled up next to his brother and was soon fast asleep.

It had been a while since Loki had done this. Thor enjoyed protecting his otherwise stubbornly independent little brother. At the same time, it unnerved him to see his brother so terribly frightened. Everyone had nightmares, even Thor (however rarely), but no one else the first prince knew seemed so affected by them. Nor did any other Asgardian have nightmares that repeated as Loki's did. His little brother was unaffected by all other nightmares, only these cold, red-eyed terrors sent him running for Thor's comfort.

He felt Loki shiver in his sleep, and immediately stroked the soft dark brown hair to soothe him. Loki was so small compared to his bulky big brother, especially while he slept. They were the same height when they stood, but other than that, the boys were as different as night and day. That had never stopped them from having fun in each other's company, however. Far from it. The two found and caused trouble together with a regularity that set them apart from all the other children in the kingdom. With their differences, they worked together to do anything they wanted, regardless of the rules. Where strength could not prevail, Loki used his sharp mind and magic to get what they wanted. Likewise, where cleverness and words did not work, Thor used his impressive muscle and bravery to achieve their goal.

Thor heard Loki whimper, and looked down at him, concerned. Fresh tears were forming in his eyes, and the boy felt cold, and was getting colder. Thor went to brush away a tear, and found that it was frozen, a tiny clear crystal stuck to his brother's face. The second prince whimpered again, squirming like he was fighting off some imaginary foe. This was the first time he had ever had a nightmare while so close to his brother. Thor didn't know what to do, so he tightened his grip on the boy, holding him closer to himself, trying to both calm him and warm him up. "Loki, wake up!"

It was the wrong thing to do. In his dream, Loki imagined that he was being smothered by the red-eyed monsters. He thrashed in his sleep, and when unable to get free, he placed both his hands on Thor's shoulders and shoved with all his strength. "Go away!"

Thor let go, but not because of the shove. His shoulders burned, and he felt like ice had been dumped down his back. He let go out of shock, and both boys fell off of opposite sides of the bed. Once Thor got up, he realised that Loki was still trapped in his nightmare.

It was dark and Thor tripped over a few things in the dark, but he ran around the bed to his brother as quickly as he could. "Loki, it's only a dream! Wake up! It's not real!" He tried to shake the smaller boy awake, but Loki would not open his eyes. Whatever he was seeing had him completely immersed.

Thor had tears in his own eyes now. He didn't know what was happening, but he just wanted his little brother to be okay again. His shoulders still burned, and he had yet to see what had happened to them. Loki was more important to him at the moment.

Loki was shouting in his sleep unintelligibly, or perhaps in another language. No matter what Thor did, the boy would not wake up. Thor tried one last time to shake him awake, unsuccessfully. Then he tore out of the room, running down the halls as fast as he could. "Mother! Father! Wake up! Father! Father! Mother!"

They sat up in bed just as he ran in. Frigga got up first, seeing her son panicked. "What is it? What's the matter?"

Thor was breathing heavily. "It's Loki... He... He had a nightmare again, and I can't wake him up. Mother, he's terrified!"

Odin lit a lamp. "My son... What happened to your shoulders?" He approached Thor.

Thor shook his head. "I don't know, it happened while Loki was having his nightmare. It doesn't matter! Hurry! You must help Loki!"

They nodded, and Frigga carried Thor as they ran back to their sons' room.

Loki had gotten worse, he was screaming on the floor, holding his head between his hands. Thor's heart ached to see his brother so terrified. Odin knelt down next to him, placing a hand on Loki's forehead.

"Cold as ice." He looked up, and Frigga shared an indecipherable look with him. He looked down to the boy. "Loki, wake up, you are sleeping. You mustn't let them keep you there. Come back to us, my son." He picked the boy up, cradling him gently. He stroked the frozen forehead, the shine of golden magic glimmering on his fingers.

The second prince slowly calmed down, the expression of terror melting on his face, until _finally_, he opened his eyes. He looked around, his face blank, until his eyes landed on Odin's face. He hugged his father. "You saved me." He didn't say more than that, just hugging the old Asgardian silently.

Odin and Frigga shared another look that Thor didn't understand. After a few moments of silence, Loki pulled away and looked at them. "Father, what are they? I saw them, I know they are real. They are enormous, and cold. They have red eyes and blue skin. What are they?"

Odin studied his son for a few seconds. "Do not worry about them, Loki. What they are is not important. You must not fear them, they can do you no harm."

Loki looked to his mother. "But what _are_ they? Why do I dream of them? Always it is the same dream... But this time..." He looked back to Odin. "This time you saved me. I saw you."

Odin shook his head. "It is a dream, nothing more, my child. You saw me because I woke you up."

Loki refused to believe it. "But it is so _real_." He looked to Thor. "You believe me, don-" he cut off, staring at Thor's shoulders. "What happened?! Thor, your shoulders, they're... _Black_."

Thor finally looked at his shoulders. "I have no idea. You were scared, and I tried to comfort you... You shoved me away in your sleep." He pulled away the tattered shirt sleeve to better see his wound. It was a black mark... In the exact shape of a small handprint.

Loki looked at his hands. "I... _I_ did that?" He looked horrified, and hid his hands in his shirt, as if to keep himself from touching anything.

Frigga knelt down between the two boys. Odin gently set Loki back on his feet. Their mother placed a hand on each boy's shoulder. "Loki, it was merely an accident. You couldn't control it. I can easily heal this." She nudged Thor closer so that Loki would be able to see that it could be fixed.

Thor nodded in agreement. "You were having a nightmare, brother. I do not blame you at all." He removed his shirt so that their mother could lay her hands over the black marks. Her hands glowed with a warm, golden light, and when she removed her palms, the black handprints were quickly fading away to their regular colour.

Loki didn't look any happier. He continued to keep his hands hidden away in his tunic. He stared at the ground, and Thor could tell from the wrinkles between his eyebrows that he was deep in thought. He finally looked up. "Was it magic? Did I attack you in my sleep with magic?"

Thor shrugged. "I could not tell. You yelled for me to get away, then shoved us both off opposite sides of the bed. Your hands burned, but I did not hear you say any spell."

Loki looked troubled. "What if it happens again? I don't want to hurt Thor!" He had a desperately sad and pleading look on his face. He wanted answers so badly that it hurt him.

Odin put a hand on his other shoulder. "It will not happen again, Loki. You have seen the end of that nightmare, it is over."

Loki could hardly be heard. "But what if I accidentally hurt him when I'm awake?"

* * *

Thor hadn't seen his brother since he had hidden himself in a spare room. It had been a month already, and nothing Thor said could get his brother to leave the locked room. Frigga and Odin had said to let him be, but even they were starting to get worried.

The seasons had shifted from fall to winter already. The snow had begun to stick to the ground only yesterday. Loki had always loved the snow, so maybe Thor would finally get him to come out.

The Warriors Three and Sif didn't understand. Sif though Loki was being stupid over nothing. The Warriors Three didn't know what to make of it. Thor went to the door every day to try to convince his brother to come out and join them.

He knocked on the solid wood five times. "Loki?"

There was no response. He didn't expect one.

"Would you come out and build a snowman?"

He waited. There was no response.

"It doesn't have to be a snowman."

He heard nothing.

"I never see you anymore, I wished you'd open this door. It's like you've just gone away..."

Thor sat down, his back to the unresponsive wooden door. He hoped in vain that Loki would say something. _Anything_.

"We used to be the best of brothers, but now we aren't. I wish you would tell me why..."

He still heard nothing.

He stared at the floor sadly. "Do you want to build a snowman? It doesn't have to be a snowman..."

"Go away, Thor." Loki sounded as if he was right on the other side of the door. Thor's heart soared.

He sat up, kneeling by the keyhole to see through. "Only if you come with me!"

He waited for Loki to answer, he was sure that his brother would. He was not disappointed. "... That defeats the point of you leaving."

Thor grinned to himself. "I'll leave you alone as long as you leave this room, and come back to our room."

There was a moment of silence. "Why?"

"What?" Thor didn't understand.

"Why do you want me to leave so badly?"

Thor thought about it. "Because you're my brother, and I miss you. I want you back. All of us do."

"... But what if I hurt you again?"

"It was only an accident, Loki!" Thor couldn't believe that his brother was still so upset after all this time. "No one is angry with you, and if it happens again, _then_ we shall worry about it."

There was another long pause.

"Please, come out. I miss you."

He waited for a full three minutes, then finally, there was a clicking noise. He stood up as the door swung open inward. Loki stood in the frame, clothes rumpled, but not as badly as his hair was, said clothes hung off his thin (or thinner than usual) frame, his eyes were red-rimmed as if he had been crying, and with an unreadable (at least to Thor) expression on his face. Loki had looked better.

"You are a stubbornly persistent, careless, arrogant, annoying, loud, and completely insufferable imbecile." Thor grinned in response. "... I miss you too."

Thor picked his brother up off the ground in a bone-crushing embrace. "Don't you _ever_ do that again, Loki. I don't care _what _happens. You are _always_ going to be my brother, and that is never going to change, no matter what. Even if you were twenty feet tall, had blue skin and three eyes, I would not want that to change." He finally put the boy down, having made his point.

Loki had to catch his breath, but when he did, he grinned. "I hope you were lying about leaving me alone. Let's go have breakfast. _After_ I bathe and change out of these garments."

Thor nodded exuberantly. "I shall have a feast prepared immediately!"

His brother laughed. "As long as there is warm tea, I will be satisfied."

"And there shall be. Dress warmly, brother. I did not jest when I asked you to build a snowman with me."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Fine, but the cold never bothered me anyways. I shall meet you at the breakfast table."

"And then we will build a snowman?"

"Yes, Thor."

The first prince pumped his fist triumphantly. "We shall build the largest one ever, of all the nine realms!"

The younger brother snorted. "Even larger than last year's?"

"Twice so!"

Loki shook his head incredulously. "By the Norns, Thor. We shall be outside for _days_."

Thor grinned. "I must make up for lost time somehow. And as long as I am building such a thing with you, I care not for the time it takes."

Loki rolled his eyes, smiling. "You say that now."

Thor looked at him seriously. "I will always say that. And I will always _mean_ it."

Loki didn't respond right away. "Forever?"

Thor nodded. "Forever and ever."

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**AN: ****I love you all for noticing this little thing. Thanks again to ****heavenlygothicgirl**** for the frozen suggestion.**

**Feel free to prompt!**

**Reviewers get to build a snowman!**


	5. I have this under control!

"_I've got this under control!"_

"_So that's why everything's on fire, is it?"_

_-Sif and Thor, Thor: The Dark World (2013)_

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**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

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Thor, Loki, Sif, Hogun, Volstagg, And Fandral were outside the castle walls again. They didn't have a destination in mind this time; they were merely restless inside the walls of Asgard. It was Sif's idea, as strange as that is. The warrior maiden is usually one of the more cautious members of their group of friends. But even Volstagg agreed with her that there had been far too little excitement as of late within the castle walls. And knowing the princes, it was probably the better option (for the entire kingdom), as opposed to leaving those two to their own devices.

For the moment, the six of them were resting by a watering hole they'd come across. Loki seemed agitated, glaring at his old map. Thor looked like he wanted to go swimming, but didn't want to wear only his trousers in front of Sif. Fandral kept pestering Sif about something, away from the others, and she in turn completely ignored him, instead choosing to attempt braiding her hair. Volstagg was scrutinising the bushes and trees, and had already collected a large handful of dark berries. He wasn't sure whether they were Nightshade or blueberries though, and didn't want to take a chance and poison himself. Hogun, unsurprisingly, was standing off to the side, watching all his friends stoically, and keeping one hand on his weapon; ready to pull it out at the first sign of danger.

Thor was the first to break the calm, as usual. "Friends! What shall we do here? The day is young yet!"

Loki put his map down, giving his brother an amused look. "Thor, if you want to swim, just go ahead. I am certain that Lady Sif will not mind it." He smiled impishly, correctly guessing why his brother had hesitated for so long.

Thor pretended to look surprised. "How did you know I wanted to swim?"

Loki shook his head, folding up the map. "You have been pacing by the water and glancing at Sif for nearly ten minutes, brother. Correct me if I am wrong in assuming that you wish to swim, but don't want to do so in front of Lady Sif because that would mean removing most of your clothing in front of her."

Thor paused. "You are correct? How did you...?

The younger boy kept grinning. "I am your brother, Thor. I believe I know you well enough to put two and two together."

Thor smiled helplessly. "Of course. Will you join me?"

Loki shook his head, the grin that was starting to make Thor worry still on his face. "No, I do believe that Sif will be perfectly happy to just see you half-naked. I wouldn't want to intrude. Perhaps we should all leave you two alone?"

His brother looked properly embarrassed. "Loki!"

The second prince grinned unapologetically. "Yes, that _is_ my name."

Thor looked like he was losing an internal battle against whether he should hit his brother or not.

Sif stepped in, taking the opportunity to escape Fandral. "_Loki_. _Thor_." The boys broke off their staring contest as she drew their attention. "_you_," she pointed at Loki, "shut up before you talk yourself into more trouble. If you think I won't hit you just because you are a prince, you are mistaken. _You_," she pointed at Thor, "need to learn to realise when your brother is up to something, and stop him before he starts a fight. I swear, I don't understand how you two live together without tearing the castle apart every other day."

Both princes looked properly chastised. "We're sorry, Sif." They spoke in perfect unison, as if they had rehearsed it. They might as well have, considering how many times they've had to apologise for making trouble.

She nodded, unaffected by the kicked-puppy look they were giving her. This same look had been known to melt even the Allfather's anger before. They regularly got lighter punishments (if any at all) because of this perfected expression of apologetic guilt. Sif never fell for it.

The Warriors three had gathered off to the side to watch. The princes' banter and Sif's authority always made for an amusing scene.

Fandral clapped his hands together loudly. "Well! Shall we swim then? I rather like the idea! _Especially_ if you will join us, Lady Sif."

Loki and Volstagg covered their moths before they could laugh. Thor and Hogun rolled their eyes at their companions. They truly were an odd assortment of friends.

Sif glared at him for several seconds. "Go jump off a cliff, Fandral." Then she turned her attention to the rest of them. "Come on, let's just move on already. Loki, how far are we from the walls? Is there a path nearby? Is there anywhere we should avoid?"

The youngest of the group looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Er, about that... The map..." He shook his head helplessly and handed the parchment to her. "This place isn't on it. I think we've passed the edge already. I have no idea where we are."

Sif looked at him in disbelief for a moment, and then opened the map. Hogun joined her in looking over it. "If you are playing a trick on us, Loki, I will kill you."

After a moment, Hogun looked up from the map. "He is right. We left from the south gate, and there is no watering hole south of the walls."

Sif nearly growled in frustration. "How did this happen?" She directed the question at everyone, but her anger was mostly focused on Loki.

The prince stepped back, holding his hands up. "I do not know. We have been walking for most of the day, longer than ever before. I have not checked the map since we rested for lunch. We were not so close to the edge then."

Volstagg nodded. "I remember. I had to make him stop fussing over it and eat. Do you remember where we were at lunch?"

The boy nodded, relieved that Sif wasn't glaring at him anymore. "Yes, I marked it. We had been heading almost directly south, but slightly to the west. Though now I am unsure if we have changed our direction since then. It's been several hours." He pointed to a spot on the map, presumably the place they had eaten lunch.

Everyone was looking at Sif expectantly.

Thor looked around at the trees. "What do we do now, then?"

Sif seemed to realise that she was the centre of attention. "Why are you all looking at _me_? Loki is the navigator."

Loki took the map back. "Well, this trip was _your_ idea, Sif."

Fandral leant against a nearby tree. "Does anyone remember which direction we came from? Because I do not." He attempted to sound nonchalant, but his eyes were darting around nervously, looking for a tree he recognised.

Thor had a tight grip on his sword, but otherwise didn't look worried. "We have been heading mostly south. Surely we have a compass with us?"

Loki searched through the bag quickly. "I do not have one... We've never had need of it before." He appeared the most scared out of the group.

Volstagg looked into the sky. "Isn't there some way to tell west from east by the sun?"

Loki bit his lip. "On most realms there is; but not here. Our sun both rises and sets in Valhalla... where did you hear that?"

Volstagg shrugged. "My father mentioned using the sun to find his way when he was lost one time."

Loki nodded, moving closer to Thor.

Thor crossed his arms. "I say we start walking until we find something we recognise on the map."

Sif immediately disagreed. "And what if we head in the wrong direction? Then we will never find the way back! I say we try to find which way is north first. We will stay here until we do."

The warriors three all nodded. Volstagg finally pocketed his berries. "In that case, we will need to both build a compass, and set up camp. Hogun and Fandral, go collect firewood. Loki, Come with me to collect food. You know which berries are poisonous and which are not, yes?" Loki nodded, he was glad for something to do. Fandral and Hogun emptied out bags for the wood and left to fill them up. Volstagg turned to Sif. "Sif, Take your bow and hunt for some small animals. Don't engage anything too big, because it might have even bigger friends." She nodded, and he finally turned to Thor. "I need you to cut down some long branches. Make sure they have plenty of leaves; the younger the wood, the better. Put them in the water once you've cut them. We will use them to build a shelter, and they need to be flexible. Do you understand?"

Everyone made some sort of acknowledgement, and went off to do what they were assigned. Loki stuck close to Volstagg and made sure to mark the trees they passed with his dagger as they looked for edible plants. It turned out that Volstagg's handful of berries _was_ nightshade, and he was infinitely glad that he hadn't eaten them. Fandral and Hogun stayed near them at first, but had to break away when they saw an old tree with dry branches scattered on the forest floor nearby. Everyone could hear the constant thud as Thor hacked away at young tree limbs, his sharp sword making quick work of it. No one heard or saw Sif, which was probably a good sign, considering her job. There were plenty of birds and rabbits about, so she had little difficulty in hunting enough down for their dinner.

About half an hour later, everyone had returned to the watering hole. Sif had enough game for everyone to have two rabbits to themselves, and then some. Loki and Volstagg had filled their packs with fruit, mushrooms, and even some wild cabbage and nuts. Each boy was proudly carrying a large watermelon in addition to the packs. Hogun and Fandral had finished first, and already had a fire going, since the sun was beginning to set. The long branches that Thor had cut down were soaking in the water. The prince himself had taken off his tunic and was splashing himself with the water to cool down.

"Alright, for now we should build our shelter. That is the most important thing for us at this moment." Volstagg gestured for Hogun and Fandral to get up. "Come, my friends. We will make short work of this." And indeed they did. Hogun hauled the flexible wood out of the water, Fandral set them up in the most organised and efficient way he could, and Volstagg tied the wood together with vines and long grass. The three of them worked together flawlessly.

It still took them the better part of an hour, and the sun was well below the horizon when they were finished. Sif and Thor discussed to themselves quietly about what actions they should take, while the dinner cooked over the fire. Loki cut the fruit up, and when he finished, he joined Thor and Sif, remaining mostly quiet. He could tell that Sif was still not pleased with him.

Dinner was ready when they finished, and everyone sat down to eat as the stars began to appear in the sky. It was probably the quietest dinner that any of them had ever experienced.

"So, have you thought of anything that could get us headed in the right direction, Sif?" Fandral put down his meat.

Sif nodded. "We could always attempt to build a compass. I have metal pins, we have water, and we have bowls as well. But we always run the risk of doing it wrong, and heading even further away."

Thor nodded to her. "Loki has made one before; it is not such a large risk."

"You are forgetting that we need a magnet. We do not have one." Loki poked at his food.

Sif sighed. "Right... We can wait for the wind. If it is cold, then it is from the mountains, and heading towards Asgard. If it is warm, then it could be heading from any other direction, however."

Volstagg popped a few berries in his mouth. "But we have just left winter! The wind could be cold from any direction!"

Sif nodded. "I know. But we don't have many better options."

"We can call for Heimdall and hope he sees us?" Thor drank some more water.

"And if he does not?" Hogun bit into his watermelon.

"It cannot hurt to try." Sif decided, standing. Everyone followed suit.

After an awkward pause, Sif yelled for Heimdall, and everyone else joined her. They shouted for all of two minutes, before they decided that if he hadn't noticed them yet, he wasn't going to. Thor was the last to stop shouting for the gatekeeper.

"Maybe he's telling the guards where we are?" The first prince guessed hopefully.

Fandral shrugged. "As far as I am aware, he cannot teleport. So we can only hope that the guards are on their way now."

Everyone sat back down.

"I could climb a tree. Maybe I can see the walls?" Loki pushed the rest of his food over to Thor.

Sif nodded. "That's a good idea. We will need to find a tall enough tree though."

Loki stood up, glad that Sif was no longer looking at him with malign intent. "I saw a huge one while Volstagg and I were searching for berries. I marked the trees."

Sif smiled at him. "Clever. Let us go and find it again."

They began to head over to the tree with a dagger mark in it, but Hogun stood up and blocked them at the last second. "Stop. Look in the bushes."

They did, and saw the shining eyes of wolves circling around the makeshift camp. The telltale golden gleam was hardly noticeable, hidden as it was in the dark leaves of the bushes surrounding the camp. Loki and Sif immediately jumped back, glad that Hogun had stopped them before they walked right into it.

Fandral peered at the bushes. "Ah. Well, that might put a damper on our little campout. I say, lads, and Lady Sif, we should set up a watch of some sort. The beasts will be gone by morning; you can go find your tree then."

Loki nodded, gripping his daggers. "In twos; so if one falls asleep, the other can wake him, or her, up. I will take first watch."

Thor nodded. "Good idea, brother. I will join you."

"But you both are royalty! We should be watching. You should sleep." Sif protested, standing. "I will take first watch."

Thor shook his head, smiling. "Do you think those wolves care whether we are royalty or not? Loki and I will take first watch. And we _will_ sleep; after we wake two of you up for the second watch."

Volstagg stood as well. "They are right, Sif. I will take second watch with you. Finish your dinner, now."

Fandral stretched, having just finished. "So Hogun and I will take third watch; sounds fine to me." He grinned and made his way to the shelter, stretching out on the ground.

His friends tried to suppress laughter at that. Leave it to Fandral to make a frightening situation seem less so.

Hogun rolled his eyes, stretching out next to him. "Good night."

"And _do_ be quiet until it is our turn, won't you?" Fandral shut his eyes, smirking.

Volstagg also settled down, on Hogun's other side. "Yes, Loki, pelt Thor with something if he is too loud, please."

Loki grinned wickedly, tossing a pinecone in the air that had been lying near him.

Fandral snorted. "Do you even need to ask him?"

Thor groaned. "No need to worry, my friends. I shall be as quiet as a mouse!" He eyed Loki mistrustfully.

Sif snorted at that. She ignored Fandral, who was trying to get her to lie next to him, and settled herself next to Volstagg. "I wish you luck, Thor. _That _is one feat that I believe you are incapable of."

The first prince shot her a half-hearted glare. "I shall prove you wrong, Lady Sif." He didn't sound convinced. "Good night, all of you. I wish you a restful sleep."

The rest mumbled similar wishes of 'good luck' and 'remain alert' to the princes, and wished each other good night as well. Once everyone had settled, Loki darted over to a tree and began to climb.

"What are you doing?" Thor whispered loudly, nearing the tree.

"Climbing a tree, Thor; _obviously_." Loki whispered back, smirking.

"I can see that, but why?" Thor eyed the nearby bushes warily.

"Because it has pinecones."

"And are you going to tell me _why_ you are looking for pinecones?"

"It depends, are you asking?"

Thor sighed in exasperation; Loki was being difficult again. "Yes."

"I'm not looking for pinecones. I've already found them." He was up in the tree, holding several already.

The first prince groaned. "Why do you need pinecones, Loki?"

"_Finally, _the correct question; I need them to throw at you; should you be too loud, or if you fall asleep." He grinned impishly.

The older boy rolled his eyes. "You enjoy tormenting me far too much, brother."

"Verily; there is little in Asgard that amuses me more." He swung upside down to hang from a branch so that he could face Thor.

"I have nothing to throw at you, brother. If I fall asleep; you will pelt me with pinecones. What if you should fall asleep?" He pushed Loki away by putting a hand over the boy's face.

Loki grinned under Thor's hand. "Then I will fall out of the tree."

Thor laughed as quietly as he could manage. "That is true. I suppose we should both keep our wits about us, then."

"Verily." Loki swung back upright effortlessly. He tossed a pinecone at his brother, bouncing it off his head. "No laughing. You are too loud."

Thor shook his head at him, fighting back another laugh. "Do that again, and I shall shove you out of this tree."

Loki stuck out his tongue. "Not if you can't reach me!" The small prince scrambled up the branches.

The elder prince rolled his eyes again, heading back to the rock by the watering hole, where he could keep a closer eye on the shelter. The others were sleeping peacefully.

* * *

"Darling?"

"Yes, my Queen?" The Allfather stretched out on the large bed they shared.

"Have you seen the boys today?" Frigga brushed her long, golden hair out for the night.

"Hmm... come to think of it, no, I have not. Why?"

"They are never this quiet. Not for an entire day. Do you think they might have run off? What if they are in trouble?" Frigga met his eyes, worried like only a mother can be.

Odin shook his head. "They are fine, dear. Our boys can take care of themselves. They are likely staying with one of their friends overnight, or exploring the woods again. They cannot have left Asgard, Heimdall would know if they did."

Frigga sighed, brushing her hair again. "I know, but I worry still. The woods are a dangerous place, what if they became lost?"

The Allfather laughed. "There is naught more dangerous than small game in those woods for several miles. And we gave Loki a map; he will not be lost so long as he has it, and Thor would not enter the woods without him. He is nearly a better navigator than the head Einherjar himself."

The Queen nodded. "You are right, but I have a bad feeling. They have never been gone this long."

"If it makes you feel better, I will ask Heimdall to look for them tomorrow; if they are not back by midday." Odin shut his eye, relaxing.

Frigga nodded. "Yes, please do. I would feel much better knowing where they are, at least."

The king hummed. "Of course, my dear; I will be worried as well if they have not returned by noon. Though, I am surprised they have not been gone so long before now."

The Queen sighed. "I suppose we owe Loki for that. He has a lot of influence over Thor, and is much more level-headed, despite his mischief. Thor would have endangered himself much more often if it weren't for that boy." She stood and glided to the bed; the queen never simply _walked_ anywhere.

"I understand that, Frigga." Odin rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand. "Loki will make a fine king someday. Or if not a king, then he will still be an irreplaceable companion for Thor; when _he_ is king. I am sure that Thor will always seek Loki's council, king or no."

Frigga settled down next to her husband. "When do you plan to tell him?" She whispered, even though there was no reason to; they were alone in their chambers.

Odin was silent for a long time; she almost thought he had fallen asleep. "I do not know. I hope I will never have to. I would like him to simply believe that he is Aesir for the remainder of his life."

His wife sighed, leaning into him. "I wish for the same. But he is so clever... if we do not tell him, he might find out on his own; and it might not be taken well."

Odin wrapped an arm around his wife. "Do not worry about this now. The time will present itself when he is ready; for now, he is simply our son. We will raise him as a prince of Asgard; when the time comes, he will need to decide for himself what he wants to be. Jötun or Aesir, we will love him the same as we always have."

Frigga closed her eyes. "We can only hope for the best, I suppose..."

* * *

They survived through the night without getting eaten by wolves, thankfully. And as Fandral predicted, once the sun rose over the trees, the beasts scattered. Loki claimed that he got a good look at one of them, and the thing was almost as tall as he was, on all fours. The others suspected he might be exaggerating, though.

They had one small mishap while Sif was on watch. One of the wolves left the cover of the bushes, and she had to scare it back with her sword. She ended up accidentally kicking the fire and setting the shelter alight. But the branches were still damp enough that it wasn't a strong fire, so she and Volstagg managed to put it out quickly.

Everyone was slightly put down when they woke up and no one had been sent to find them. Thor had been so sure that Heimdall would see them; everyone had gotten their hopes up a little. Now it looked like they were back to square one.

"I thought there weren't supposed to be any wolves in the forest. Where did those beasts come from?" Thor stretched his stiff limbs.

"We must be very far from the palace. The woods near the walls are enchanted to only allow small game to survive. That is why the Hunters travel so far for wild boar and the like. We are likely in the wild woods, _miles_ from the walls of Asgard." Volstagg explained ominously.

"So far we have only seen wolves, outside of the ordinary. If wolves are the greatest of our troubles, we will be fine. We have six fearsome warriors amongst our numbers, we need not worry." Fandral was inspecting his elegant sword in the morning light.

"What if we run into a bilgesnipe?" Thor sounded excited. "We can take the antlers back to Asgard as a trophy!"

"Bilgesnipes are horrid, disgusting creatures. They also destroy everything in their path. If we see one, we are _not_ engaging it. We will retreat and hope it does not notice us." Sif was adamant.

"Oh, come _on_. If we must be lost here, we might as well have ourselves an adventure!" Thor jumped to his feet, fighting imaginary foes with an imaginary sword in his hands.

Sif shoved him by the shoulder. "Knock it off, you. This is serious. We need to find our way home, quickly. There will be no more adventures until _this_ one is over. Volstagg, you and Loki should go find that tree again. Loki, you need to climb _all_ the way to the top to look for the walls."

Loki gave her a salute. "Yes sir!"

Sif smiled involuntarily. "Just go already."

Volstagg took Loki by the elbow. "Come on, that's enough out of you." He dragged the boy off into the woods while he attempted to march like one of the Einherjar.

Thor shook his head. "My brother is strange."

"That is putting it lightly!" Fandral chuckled. "Though, he never fails to amuse me."

Hogun nodded in agreement.

Sif rolled her eyes. "Simply being funny will not save him from a giant monster; he needs to take things more seriously."

The prince shook his head. "My brother is fine; he knows when he needs to focus. You could learn a thing or two from him Sif; you take everything _too_ seriously. Come now friends; we must collect food for breakfast!"

"You are beginning to sound like Volstagg!" Fandral laughed, and his stomach rumbled. "Though, food sounds like a fine idea!"

Thor clapped him on the back. "Now _you_ are beginning to sound like our round friend. Come; let us make a competition out of it. Whoever collects the most food gets first choice of the meat!"

"Sounds lovely to me, what say you, Lady Sif?" Fandral turned to the warrior maiden, just in time to see an arrow fly past his head.

The arrow buried itself between the eyes of a fat rabbit at the edge of the trees. Sif grinned at them. "One; I do believe I'm already winning."

Thor laughed loudly. "Fantastic! And you, Hogun?"

The quiet warrior had already disappeared, leaving only shaking branches in his wake.

"We better hurry, Thor, or we'll be left behind!" Fandral ran off into the woods as well, with Thor on his heels.

* * *

"Alright, Loki ... _be careful!_ ... Oh, I can't look ... _Odin's beard_, Loki! Do you want to give me a heart attack before my fifth century?! ... If you don't stop mucking about, you're going to fall and break a limb! And not one of the tree's!" Volstagg's nonstop fretting went almost completely ignored by the boy scaling the enormous Oak above him. The monstrosity of a tree towered several metres over the surrounding ones, making it an ideal vantage point. The branches weren't always close together, or ideal for climbing, since the lower half of the tree was mostly bare. Loki often had to jump between branches; causing Volstagg to worry endlessly. Not only would he never forgive himself if Loki got hurt doing this, but Thor would kill him for it. And the slight boy is so very high off the ground; there is a chance that he wouldn't survive a fall from so high.

Loki remained undaunted by the tree, however. He only acknowledged Volstagg's cries of warning by wobbling on purpose or slipping a hand just to scare the poor boy even more. He rested for a moment after a few difficult jumps. This was one of the most challenging things he had climbed, and he loved it. He was already halfway up the leviathan Oak.

He picked a splinter out of his hand, watching the small wound heal itself quickly. Magic is a beautiful thing. The second prince swung his body under the branch, hooking the thick limb with his knees.

Volstagg nearly died right there. "DO NOT _DO_ THAT!" He all but screamed at the prince.

Loki laughed, his face splitting into a wide grin. "_Relax_, Volstagg! I could climb this with my eyes closed!"

"Please do not!" Volstagg blanched, imagining it.

The prince covered his eyes, still grinning widely. "Are you sure? I could do it!" he peeked through his fingers to see Volstagg's reaction.

"_LOKI!_" Volstagg looked close to tears; Loki put his hands back on the branch. He knew when he was pushing too far.

"Alright, alright; I shall be more careful, Volstagg. I promise! Stop worrying so much, I have climbed more difficult things. Even the walls do not have as many decent handholds as this!" It wasn't exactly the truth, but it seemed to give Volstagg some peace of mind.

"_Thank you._ I swear; you will be the death of me!" Volstagg relaxed once Loki swung back on top of the branch.

"Only if hunger does not get you first!" Loki laughed, leaping to the closest branch above him. It was getting easier; the higher he went, the closer the branches were.

"What are you, some sort of ape?!"

"Perhaps; come to think of it, I _do_ love fruit more than most!" He leapt to the next branch after swinging on top of the previous one; he could only get close enough to grab each branch and pull (or swing) himself up from there. Hence, Volstagg kept worrying that he would miss and fall a good twenty or so metres.

"If you find which way Asgard is, and come back down _safely_; I shall find you all of the fruit you could ever ask for!"

"Tempting!" He just climbed up to the next branch, it was close enough.

"So be more careful!" Volstagg's eyebrows were knit together with worry for the small prince.

"I have no plans to hurt myself today!" Loki pulled out another splinter with his teeth.

"Then quit jumping around up there like some circus act! Use a rope, or something!" Volstagg cried desperately as Loki took another huge leap.

Loki caught the limb one-handed and used his momentum to swing up to the other side. "Yes, mother!" He grinned as Volstagg yelped; he really was terrified for the prince.

After that, Loki went back to ignoring Volstagg's protests and scaled the rest of the tree much more quickly than the first half. He could hardly even hear the cries of outrage by the time he was three quarters of the way up. He reached the top and gripped it as he stood up on the next highest branch. It barely supported his weight, so he gripped the tree tightly in case it broke.

The view was amazing, he was well above all the other trees, and he could see for miles in every direction. He thought he recognised a mountain in the distance, and pulled out his map to see if he could determine which one it was, and if he could tell the way to Asgard from it. There were two mountains that fit the one he saw, but he couldn't see the other one, so he had no idea which side they were on. He only knew that they weren't between the mountains on the map.

He squinted and blocked out the sun with one hand in order to look for the city. He thought he caught a gleam of gold off on the horizon to the right, but he wasn't completely sure. He turned and looked, willing himself to see the walls, or _anything_ that could reveal the right way to him.

Nothing on his left, nothing ahead of him... a slight gleam on his right, and behind him... a mountain range. He looked at the map again. In the south... two mountains, and if that gleam on his right was _anything_, that meant that this mountain was the western one... and in front of him, there should be a river... not too far. But the trees were blocking the way... there should be a break in them... there! A long, wavering line of empty space between the trees! That meant that that gleam _was_ the palace! He quickly looked around at the surrounding trees. The one on the side of his tree that faced Asgard was an Ashwood. The other side had a maple. He could bring the others back to this tree, and they can find their way home from here!

The branch beneath him snapped finally, and the map fell from his grasp as he gripped the tree with both hands so that he did not fall. "No!" He landed hard on the branch below, and he reached out desperately with one hand for the map. He barely caught it, and quickly shoved the thing back into his pocket. "Thank the Norns-" The branch he landed on snapped, and he reached out blindly for another one to catch himself on. He caught himself one-handed, and hung there for a second, grabbing it with his other hand. This one was much thicker. It would not snap, thankfully.

He clambered on top, and hugged it, catching his breath. Now he understood why Volstagg was so worried; falling is _terrifying_. He could swear that his whole life flashed in front of him. He clung to the branch for another moment before he calmed himself and sat up. He had fallen almost five meters. It could have been worse; at least he didn't break anything. He checked his pocket, the map was still there.

He looked down, Volstagg was slumped on the ground; he looked like he had fainted, bless him.

Loki was much more careful as he made his way back down. When he was halfway, Volstagg stirred.

"Thank the Norns! Loki, are you alright?! You scared me half to death!"

Loki smiled at him. "Sorry! A branch broke! I'm fine! And I know which way Asgard is!"

"Really?! That's fantastic!" Loki could hear the excitement in his voice. "But are you sure you are alright?"

"It is very far off, but I am sure of which direction we must head! And yes, I am sure!" Volstagg could imagine the boy rolling his eyes. Loki hopped lightly down to the next branch, being as careful as he could be while dancing around on a giant tree like some circus monkey.

Volstagg kept fretting over him until he was just ten metres from the ground. Loki had gotten his confidence back, and was doing trick jumps down the trees for the fun of it. Volstagg finally gave up on yelling at him to knock it off. The second prince listened to no one.

Loki found that getting back down the tree was much more difficult than climbing up it. He was about eight metres off the ground when it happened.

"Volstagg, look!" Loki made to dive for the next branch, intending to swing around it like an acrobat.

He hit his target, but underestimated his speed. He couldn't stop himself, and his elbows bent. There was a loud smacking sound as his head hit the branch after his hands. Loki let go mostly in surprise; he hadn't knocked his head too hard; he fell. There was one branch on the way down, but he didn't grab it in time. It hit his chest, knocking him feet-first on his fall. A paper fluttered out of his pocket; neither of them noticed it.

Volstagg could only watch in horror as he ran to catch Loki, but he knew he wouldn't reach him before he hit the ground.

There was a sickening crack as Loki landed on his right foot.

The prince crumpled to the ground.

Volstagg sprinted to his side. "Loki! Loki, please be alright! Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?" He held two fingers in front of Loki's face.

The second prince squinted at them, looking dazed. "... Four? No, three."

"Oh, Thor is going to _kill_ me... Loki, can you stand?"

The prince paused, processing Volstagg's request. "I think so..." He sat up, and then put a hand to his forehead. "Ow..." He held his other hand out to Volstagg. "Help me."

Volstagg stood, and gripped Loki's arm to help pull him up. "Of course."

Loki got up, and almost immediately fell back down. He shifted his weight onto his left leg and glanced down; Volstagg followed his gaze. Loki's right shin was horribly bent.

"... Well, that doesn't look right." Loki was staring at his leg with a sort of horrified fascination. Some part of him remembered that he couldn't magically heal it like that; it needed to be set first. He couldn't even feel it, save for a dull throbbing.

Volstagg covered his eyes. "I am _dead_."

Loki shook his head, and then stopped because it hurt. "It is my fault. Jus' tell Thor I was being an idiot." He had a slight slur, courtesy of his recent concussion.

Volstagg looked at the boy helplessly. Loki didn't stop looking at his leg. "Loki..."

The smaller boy finally looked at him. "'s fine, Volstagg. Let us return to camp."

"You don't want to rest first?"

"Sooner it is set, the better." Loki put his right arm around Volstagg.

The warrior wrapped his left arm around the prince. "I told you to be _careful_." They began heading back to the camp.

"I know. I chose not to listen. Not my smartest choice." The slur was fading.

Volstagg shook his head. "You will be the death of me, I _swear_."

Loki grinned back. "I shall have to try harder than that, then."

The warrior grimaced. "Don't you _dare_; now be quiet. We don't need wolves hearing us with your leg in a mess."

"You are right." For once, the prince listened to him.

They were quiet for a moment. Volstagg broke it. "... You aren't getting all that fruit."

Loki laughed.

**[Murphy's Law: Everything that can go wrong, **_**will **_**go wrong. ****I'm just sayin']**

* * *

The other four were back before Loki or Volstagg. Each of them had a full sack of berries, in addition to a pile of game each. Thor was the victor, with ten rabbits and three turkeys. His win was due, in part, to the fact that Fandral and Sif had been sabotaging each other. Hogun had found the watermelons, and sacrificed carrying room for his game in order to collect three watermelons. Thor had three entire bushes, roots and all with him; full of raspberries. He looked ridiculous, carrying it all. They decided to wait until Volstagg and Loki were back before they split up the rest of the meat. Thor had already chosen his.

"Perhaps we should look for them?" Sif looked concerned.

"No, they are fine. You heard Volstagg yelling at Loki earlier, did you not?" Fandral stretched out on a boulder. "They'll be back soon enough. It hasn't been too long."

"Just wait." Hogun grunted, crossing his arms and leaning against the boulder.

Thor sat, poking the fire to keep it going. "I haven't heard anything for a while; what if something has happened?"

"If you don't hear anything; that likely only means that Loki is back on the ground, and they are heading back. Relax." Fandral put a hand up to block the half-risen sun.

They heard leaves crunching. "Lads? Lady Sif? Thor?"

Thor jumped to his feet. "Volstagg?! Are you alright?"

"... Yes, _I _am just fine."

They heard a giggle; everyone recognised it as Loki's. The two of them appeared from behind one of the trees. The others noticed that Loki was leaning heavily on Volstagg, but didn't see why immediately.

"What do you mean _you_ are fine, Volstagg?" Thor's voice had a dangerous edge to it. "Loki?" He approached the two of them as they broke the foliage line.

Volstagg looked torn somewhere between terror and guilt. "His leg... and he has a concussion, I'm sure of it."

Thor took Loki from Volstagg. "Loki, what did you do?!"

The second prince grinned. "I climbed a tree, Thor! It was huge!"

Thor gulped, looking at the mess of a leg. "How did you hurt yourself?"

Loki frowned, concentrating. "I didn't listen to Volstagg."

Thor bit back an annoyed sigh. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me to be careful." Loki seemed to remember something suddenly. "Don't kill him, Thor! It was my fault!"

He seemed so earnest, everyone couldn't help but laugh a little, Thor included.

The first Prince gripped his brother by the shoulders. "No more games, Loki. What happened that broke your leg?"

Loki looked ashamed of himself. "I jumped down to a branch and tried to do a trick. But I hit my head, and fell. I think I hit another branch, but I forgot." His eyes lit up. "I know which way Asgard is! There's an ash tree, and we head that way from the tree I climbed! I saw it! There's a river, and a mountain. I can show you..." He reached in his pocket for the map, and after a moment his searching became frantic, checking everywhere he could have put it, even his shoes.

"Loki, stop. What are you talking about?" Sif approached him; Loki had her really worried. Something was _definitely_ wrong with him. He sounded so unfocused...

"No, no no no..." Loki checked his pocket again, looking panicked. "My map is gone! But I had it before I fell..." He grimaced. "I forgot to check for it... I am an _idiot_..."

Fandral shook his head. "Relax, Loki. No one blames you; you fell out of a tree."

"But that was my fault too..." Loki didn't sound any happier.

Thor held the back of his brother's neck, making the boy look at him. "Loki. Stop worrying. You know which way to head, yes? You can get a new map at the castle. If we go in the right direction long enough, we will find Asgard. It is _fine_. You did your best. And I don't blame you for falling. The Norns only know how many times I have injured myself while doing stupid things."

The other four nodded in agreement.

The second prince picked at a rip in his tunic. "Alright..." He looked relieved that Thor didn't blame him.

Sif knelt by him. "Loki, let me look at your leg. We need to set it."

Loki nodded, and she made him sit on a rock while she inspected the damage.

Hogun shook his head. "This is bad."

"Don't be so negative, my friend!" Fandral clapped him on the shoulder. "It's only a leg, it could have been worse."

"Don't jinx it, Fandral." Volstagg said solemnly. "He's likely the smartest one here; and he can hardly focus long enough to form a sentence, thanks to that concussion. Not only that, but we lost the map."

Thor left his brother with Sif so he could join the Warriors Three. "What are we to do now?" Thor seemed lost while his brother was hurt. "Do we simply start walking in the direction that Loki found?"

"No. He could have it confused." Hogun crossed his arms. "We might go in the wrong direction."

Thor stomped his boot in frustration. "Are we to be trapped here for all of eternity?!"

"Thor, you and Loki are _royalty_. They will come looking for us eventually." Fandral sounded more confident than he felt.

"I suppose there is truth in that..." Thor drew his sword and inspected it; a distraction.

"And what if one of us is worse off than Loki before that time comes?" Volstagg voiced the fear they were dancing around.

There was a long pause.

"Then we shall have to be very careful. We must stay close to each other and _protect_ each other." Thor looked pointedly at Volstagg.

"Thor, do not blame Volstagg. At least not before he has a chance to explain what happened." Fandral placed a hand on the prince's shoulder to calm him.

Thor did not look away from Volstagg. "Well? Tell us how it came to be."

Volstagg stood his ground, though he still looked guilty. "Loki was all the way at the top of the tree, and a branch broke under him. He caught himself before he could fall too far, but I am afraid I may have fainted. Your brother definitely knows how to make me stressed out enough to give me a heart attack, Thor. I was yelling at him to be careful the whole way up the tree, but I swear he slipped a hand _on purpose_ sometimes."

Thor smiled; that sounded like Loki.

The warrior continued. "My voice hurt by the time he was halfway back down, and after that first fall, he seemed to be climbing down a lot more carefully. So I stopped yelling at him. I'm not sure; he makes everything look so easy, but I thought he looked like he was having more trouble going down than he was going up."

Hogun nodded in affirmation. "Down is harder."

Volstagg nodded to him. "Yes, well, he started messing around again about a quarter of the tree off the ground. He had been fine so far, so I didn't think much of it. A quarter of the tree was close to ten metres; mind you. The thing was _enormous_."

"Go on; Volstagg." Fandral waved a hand at his friend.

"It was awful. He suddenly yells to me; 'Look, Volstagg!' And I look up to see, and he's falling, eight metres off the ground. I ran to try and catch him, but the second branch knocked him away from where I thought he would land. He landed on his right foot, and there was a loud crack... it all happened so quickly, there was nothing I could _do_." Volstagg sounded very upset. "I am sorry, Thor. If only I were faster... your brother would be fine right now."

The first prince shook his head after a moment. "No, Volstagg. You did everything you could. No one is to blame for this. And who is to say that if you had caught him, we wouldn't have two hurt boys instead of one?"

Volstagg got a relieved smile. "Thank you, Thor."

"Thank _you_ for bringing my brother back in one piece." Thor nodded to him.

Sif interrupted. "Er; Thor? I am going to need you to hold Loki's hand. This is going to hurt him; a lot." Thor nodded. "And would one of you find a strong branch to set his leg against?"

"I will, Lady Sif." Fandral bowed quickly and ran off to find what she asked for.

"Alright Thor, stay there; I cannot have you in the way." Sif nudged the first prince back a bit.

Loki silently gripped his brother's hand; he knows this will hurt.

"Loki, look at me, not your leg." Sif coaxed the prince to look up. "Good, are you ready?" Loki nodded, and she jerked the bones into place quickly; without any sort of warning.

Loki bit his lip so hard that it bled, but he did not scream.

Thor grimaced as his brother squeezed the life out of his hand.

There were a few seconds of silence; then Loki opened his eyes to glare at Sif. "What was that for?!"

"A healer told me once that it was better to surprise you. She said that it gave you less time to anticipate pain, so you would not feel it so much. Half the pain is usually imagined; unless you don't have time to imagine it." Sif remained holding the leg straight while they waited for Fandral.

"... It still hurt loads." Loki pouted, finally releasing Thor's hand and wiping blood from his lip. The small wound was already healing.

The first prince rubbed his sore fingers. "It would seem so. I had no idea you has so much strength; brother."

"You underestimate me." Loki looked at his now-straight leg. "I have decided; breaking a bone is not fun at all. I think I should like to avoid doing it again."

The others laughed, and Fandral returned. "I say, what is so amusing?" He handed a straight, strong piece of wood to Sif.

"Loki." Thor answered.

"Ah, I see." Fandral didn't need an explanation.

After Sif set Loki's leg against the splint (using torn cloth from his ruined tunic to tie it), they finally split up the food. There was enough for both breakfast and lunch. That is; if Volstagg saves some of his food for lunch. Thankfully, he had a somewhat diminished appetite after all the drama. Loki, surprisingly, actually ate all of his food. He hardly ever finished it all; even his favourite dishes. Though it did make sense, considering the workout he had gotten that morning. The others didn't know (except maybe Thor); but he would also use the energy to heal himself faster with Magic.

After the meal; the six of them relaxed and rested by the water. The sun was rising higher in the sky, warming them. Thor sparred with Fandral for a while, but they both quickly grew tired of it. They thought of swimming, but decided against it. They didn't want to be caught in the water if some large animal came to drink. The children had already spotted several wolves and large cats on the far side of the watering hole.

So they waited.

* * *

"Odin, it is midday." Frigga entered the throne room. She interrupted a meeting with a few of the council members.

Odin waved the old Aesir men away. "Our sons have still not returned?"

"My King, this is very important-" The council man was stopped with a sharp glare from Odin. "... We will continue this later, then?"

Odin nodded to him. "I will call you back once I have sorted this out." He turned back to his wife. "Well?"

Frigga shook her head. "They have not. The mothers of The Warriors Three and Sif have all come to me as well, asking where their children are. They are waiting just outside. We must go to Heimdall; I fear something terrible has happened to them."

"All six are missing?" Odin stood. "I will have Heimdall search. Come." He left his throne, offering his wife his arm as he reached her.

She took the arm, walking with him. "I can only hope that they are all together. They are strong when they are with each other..." She still sounded very worried.

They met the five other women at the door and wasted no time in going to Heimdall. The mothers all fretted over their children with Frigga. Odin smiled; thinking that all mothers were the same about certain things.

They reached Heimdall quickly. The dark-skinned guardian was stoically watching the universe; as he always did. He kneeled in respect to the Allfather as Odin approached. "My King. Why have you come?"

"Rise. I have come to ask you to search for my sons, and their friends; they have gone missing." Odin's voice commanded respect. He spoke with the authority only a true King could command.

The guardian rose, already starting to search. "Of course, my liege."

There was a tense moment of silence while the parents waited.

"I have located them. They are over twenty miles from the walls. They are southwest of the city, more to the south. They have made a camp near a watering hole, they seem mostly unharmed. No, something is wrong with Prince Loki. They are eating lunch currently. There is a large animal not far from their camp. It is heading towards the water." He focused his gaze back on the Allfather. "I can guide you there if you will teleport us. They are in danger."

Odin nodded, trying his best to hide his fear for the children. "I will call the Einherjar, and then we will go."

Frigga touched his arm. "I am coming with you. You will need my magic to teleport them all back." Her words were laced with worry for her children.

"I will retrieve my husband." Hogun's mother ran back to the city.

The other four mothers ran to get their husbands as well.

Odin let Gungnir fall to the ground with a bang. It was a signal to the Einherjar; the nearest soldiers came running.

His sons had a lot to explain.

But that could wait until after they were safe once again.

* * *

Volstagg was the last to finish lunch; he ate whatever anyone else did not want to. The sun was high, and the six young Aesir were chattering away by the water. Thor and Volstagg were playing a game where they counted the animals that came to the watering hole on the other side. Thor counted the wolves, Volstagg counted the large cats. Thor was ahead at the moment.

Sif and Fandral were taking advantage of Loki's concussion to talk to him without most of the usual insults and dancing around the subject. It was pleasant.

Hogun was cleaning his mace; quiet as always.

Thor got ahead of Volstagg by six, so the latter gave up on their game. "Alright Thor, you win!"

The prince grinned. "Come, let us join the others."

They did, and soon all six were laughing and making merry by the water. They did not think to keep their voices down.

They quieted down for a moment, and Thor turned to his brother; who had fallen silent. "Loki, how is your head feeling?" A bump had risen where he hit it.

Loki was staring at something behind Thor. He pointed to whatever it was. "Please tell me that is only a hallucination."

All five turned to see it; half expecting it to be some prank, where Loki would shout: "Made you look!" They had no such luck.

"Well; it would appear that you are _not_ hallucinating, Prince Loki. I suppose that would normally be a good thing; however..." Fandral tried to find the bright side to this.

"What in the nine realms _is_ that?" Thor rubbed his eyes, like that could change what he was seeing.

There was some giant thing, larger than Odin himself, on the other side of the watering hole. For now it was only drinking; it didn't seem to notice them. It had shaggy fur all over its back; unfit for this weather. Its legs had no fur, and instead were covered in dark nearly black scales; as was its underside. It had a short tail, not unlike that of a boar. The head was comically small compared to its body. It was dominated by a large nose, similar to a bat. The rest of its features were small; the beady eyes set forward in its head like the predator it obviously was; the ears at the top of its head; and the mouth lapping at the water on its short snout. It had the appearance of an animal that had its face smashed in. It had wicked claws and teeth, and thick muscles rippling under the obviously tough skin.

"I have never seen one before... I have no idea." Volstagg sounded slightly in awe.

"Stornese slange-bjørn." Loki's eyes looked as wide as saucers.

"... I am sorry, Loki; what was that?" Fandral turned to face the second prince.

"That is what it is; a stornese slange-bjørn. I have read about them... but it is so much larger than I thought it would be..." the boy's voice was somewhere between terrified and fascinated.

"Do you know how we beat it?" Thor unsheathed his sword and swung it around. Sif followed suit, as did Fandral.

Loki stepped back. "Beat it? _We_ don't beat it; _we_ run and hope it does not notice us and follow." Volstagg and Hogun each stepped back with him.

Volstagg nodded. "He is right." He whispered. "We should not engage it if we have no need to."

"But it is cowardly to run!" Thor insisted, not bothering to lower his voice.

The beast lifted his head at the shout.

It narrowed its beady eyes at the six children.

Then, several things happened at once. The stornese slange-bjørn growled and charged across the water. The children turned and ran for the safety of the trees; Loki tripped and fell with a cry, and Sif helped him back to his feet. There was a flash of bright golden light; and the sound of many grown men in heavy armour.

The children turned to see King Odin, Queen Frigga, Heimdall, and ten Einherjar soldiers between them and the stornese slange-bjørn.

There was a splashing noise as the beast attempted to pull back from its run, but it was halted by several spears in its unprotected back. There was a horrible cry of pain; the stornese slange-bjørn moved no more.

"My boys!" Frigga ran to the children, wrapping an arm around each prince. "You are safe!" They hugged their mother tightly.

"Father!" Sif ran to one of the Einherjar and hugged him.

Each of the warriors three did something similar. Four Einherjar knelt to embrace their children.

Odin approached his wife and sons. "Thor. Loki. You have much to explain."

"Not now." Frigga scolded her husband. "Can you not see they are frightened? Let us return to the kingdom before you lecture them." She held her boys protectively.

"I was not afraid, Mother!" Thor squirmed away from her. "I was going to fight the fiend off!"

"That would have been very foolish of you." Odin sighed. "We should return quickly. You lot have spent enough time in the woods."

All the children agreed wholeheartedly. The Einherjar collected the beast; its hide would make a fine trophy, and the meat would be used for the celebratory feast that night.

Everyone gathered close, and the King and Queen teleported all nineteen Aesir to the palace gates. Heimdall quickly excused himself and left to guard the Bifrost. The six Einherjar returned to their posts. The Warriors Three and Sif were taken back home by their fathers.

Frigga picked up Loki to carry him on her hip. "My son, what has befallen you?" she put her free hand on the side of his head and swept her thumb over his forehead.

"I fell. Do not worry for me, mother. I am fine." Loki wrapped his arms around her and nestled his head into her shoulder.

She ran her fingers through his long hair. "Do you think you can lie to me, Loki? Come. We will go to the healers."

"Wait." Odin touched his wife's shoulder. "I should like to hear what they have to say first."

Frigga looked like she wanted to argue, but sighed in resignation. "I shall heal him inside then."

The four of them headed inside, to the King and Queen's chambers.

"Father, are we in trouble?" Thor looked very interested in his boots.

"We will find out." Odin was stern. If they had done this on purpose, they would be severely punished. But if they had simply gotten lost, he reasoned, they did not deserve such a harsh sentence. After all, even the best Einherjar have become lost.

Thor was quiet. He reached out to hold his father's hand, giving Frigga and Loki a longing look.

Odin noticed, and took pity on his son. He picked Thor up and carried him in the same way. Thor seemed marginally happier.

They arrived at their destination, and the boys were placed on the bed.

"Now, explain how you ended up twenty miles from our city walls with a stornese slange-bjørn." Odin crossed his arms.

Even Frigga wanted to know how they got there, and wasn't going to help them out of this.

So, they started talking.

"It was Sif's idea!"

* * *

**AN: ****I kinda sorta used a lot of creative liberty with this oneshot. just so you know, stornese slange-bjørn translates into "Bignose Snake-Bear" I thought it sounded cooler and more fitting in Norwegian. I kinda made that thing up. I figured their woods should have some decidedly NOT Midgardian creatures in them. but I've read about normal creatures in the myths too... djhksdhjv**

**Enjoy! Review if you have an idea for me! Follow for more of these not-so-short short stories! Favourite if you liked it! All that stuff keeps me writing!**

**Reviewers get to talk to pain-drunk Loki.**


	6. Caught in the Act

"_Thor was wrong about you, Sif. You'll fit right in with the Valkyries."_

_-Loki (voiced by Rick Gomez), Thor: Tales of Asgard (2011)_

* * *

**EDIT: I revised the ending. it seemed too rushed to me.**

**Disclaimer: I'm still not Stan Lee. At least, I'm pretty sure I'm not. I'll go check... nope. still not him.**

* * *

Summertime is absolutely the best time for _everything_; except maybe snowball fights. Usually, at least; but that's what other realms and magic are for! Not that Thor could go to other realms... Yet. And he can't do magic. And most seidr-weilders would be insulted if you asked them to make a small snowstorm in the middle of summer.

But that's why Thor has Loki. Well, that and adventures. And other great brother stuff.

And so this Thor's-day found several children in one of the training centres having a snow war. In the middle of July.

It started out mostly as Thor teasing his little brother, like all big brothers tend to do. 'Come on lazy butt! It's not _that_ hot outside!' 'Yes it is! I'm gonna die of heat! Go play without me!' 'Stop making up excuses Loki! It'll be loads of fun, you won't even notice the heat! Promise!' 'Liar! I always hate playing outside in this heat!' 'What are you gonna do anyways?' 'Stuff.' 'What kind of stuff Loki? More books?!' 'Maybe I like books better than playing!' 'That's crazy talk! Why don't you just magic up some cold or something if it is really so awful?'

And so Loki made it snow in summer. Thor is really stubborn when he puts his mind to something. It was inevitable that this sort of thing would happen. Boys will be boys.

Of course, the Warriors Three and Sif were there too; and at least a dozen other children from the city. Some adults came to watch for a while, then deemed the snow harmless and left to tend to their various duties.

In Asgard, children do not learn to play in the snow, or simply have snowball fights either.

They played war games—teaming up in snowball fights—the whole morning. The goal was to either get all of the other team's members, or the leader. (because that's how war works for them, kill everyone or kill the king) Usually it was easier to hit all the team members three times, since the players guarded their captain very well. But Thor liked it better that way anyways.

Thor's team just won the war. _Again_.

"Huzzah! Victory! Shall we have another, friends?" Thor stood proudly, the other Team's captain covered in snow and giggling.

There was a chorus of agreement from the other children.

"Might we have a short respite first? We have just fought five times in a row!" One of the younger girls suggested. Several children nodded to her suggestion.

The first prince smiled at her. "A fair point, Lady Sigyn! We will rest for a quarter of an hour, and then decide teams once more!"

Sigyn curtsied to her prince, and then ran off to have something to eat. Several children followed her, including Volstagg. A few just flopped right down and lay in the snow, exhausted. Thor, Sif, Fandral, and Hogun converged to speak, and Loki joined them a moment later.

"Tell me, Lady Sif. What say you of snow in summer?" Fandral rubbed his hands together to warm them.

"I wish to know how it came about! It seems very strange, and is certainly unnatural!" Sif fixed her braid; some of her golden locks had come loose.

"I am sure we have all been wondering the same, my Lady. Though this respite from the heat is so welcome that I do not think I will question it at the moment."

Sif shrugged. "The princes found this small snowstorm, perhaps they know how it came to be?" She looked curiously at where Thor and Loki stood.

The brothers shared a brief glance, and then Thor spoke. "We simply found it. Weird, is it not?"

"But you guys _always_ find weird stuff like this!" Fandral protested.

"This cannot be a coincidence..." Hogun mused suspiciously.

The brothers shot each other another glance. Loki put his hands up in mock-surrender. "Alright, alright. Father can sense things like this. We usually are the first to find out from him. You are correct, it was no mere coincidence."

Thor nodded; eager to agree to this answer. "Yes, Father knows all and tells us of the things he believes we would enjoy."

"Does he now? So he must know who made it snow, yes? There is simply no way that snow spontaneously started falling only in this training ring." Sif declared sceptically.

"Of course, Sif. It is the work of a _very_ skilled seidr-weilder. Father deemed this as a flight of fancy and dismissed it. You should not go looking for the magic user; he or she mightn't take too kindly to noses in places they don't belong." Loki leaned back against the fence and crossed his arms, regarding Sif coldly.

Thor shot his brother a warning look. The youngest of their group had taken offence to many things Sif has said as of late. The two seemed to constantly butt heads at every opportunity.

Sif scoffed at him, raising her chin haughtily. "I'm not afraid of any witches! _Everyone_ knows that women who spend their time studying seidr are rubbish at fighting, Loki. I don't suppose you actually _know_ who this supposedly _'very_ _skilled'_ magic user is?"

For a fraction of a second Thor saw a worrisome flash of anger in Loki's eye, and then it was gone just as quickly; replaced by a bemused smirk. "Of course you would think that, dear, naïve Sif. Those who use magic would just _love_ to be underestimated. It only makes it that much easier to catch you off guard. I know full well who cast this spell. I am smart enough not to seek the person out, but I doubt that the same can be said for you, _my lady_." His voice dripped with a little too much mockery for Thor's liking.

Twenty years it had been. Twenty years since Loki had shown Thor that first illusion of Aflheim. And all this time neither of them had told a soul beyond their mother- although Father and Heimdall likely knew anyways. Loki grew quickly in the art of seidr, and had a new trick to impress his brother with nearly every week, if not more than one. He would hole up in the library for hours until he perfected his next spell. Illusions were always his favourite, and he played endless tricks on Thor with them. He's done everything from making Thor's clothes all look like dresses to creating duplicates of himself and letting Thor run through him into a wall! He always falls for that one.

Loki was quickly approaching his third century, and coming of age to fight in battle. Thor could understand his frustration at being left behind himself, Sif, and The Warriors Thee. But he could not understand why Loki chose to spend more time on his own than with the others in recent years. It seems that the only time Loki really spends time with his brother is during training and classes. They even have separate rooms now! Thor didn't like it one bit.

Sif bristled. "So prove it! If you tell me who cast the spell, I won't go looking. Why would I, if I already knew who did this?"

Loki looked like he was about to answer, but Fandral spoke over him. "How about you two set a wager on the next game? Loki can be one captain, and Sif can be the other. If Loki loses, then he must answer Sif."

"And what if Sif loses?" Loki didn't look too terribly impressed.

"Then she will drop this line of questioning and never return to it, won't you Sif?" Thor answered his brother, knowing that would work for Loki.

Sif shrugged. "Yes, if that pleases his _highness_." She mock-curtsied to the younger prince.

Loki hesitated, deliberating. He ignored Sif's jibe. "I will agree to this." He unfolded his right arm and offered his hand to her. They shook on it, binding the wager. They would now be honour-bound to follow through on their side of the deal.

Sif glared at him, and he stared back at her with equal coldness. Thor, Fandral, and Hogun squirmed awkwardly to the side, unsure of what to do.

Soon Volstagg returned with (surprise, surprise) food in his hand. "Did I miss anything?"

Fandral jumped at the opportunity to speak. "Not much old friend, only that Sif and Loki are to be captains for the next game."

Loki broke his staring contest with Sif. "And Thor, of course."

There was a brief silence. "What?" Sif was genuinely confused.

"But how, brother? You and Sif make two teams already!" Thor's eyebrows were pulled together in confusion.

"Now, now. Nowhere in the rules does it say that there must be only two teams. A three-way war is better practice for battle anyways." Loki did his best not to look smug.

The others paused, thinking. Thor would obviously be the first pick for teams, and Loki would be honour bound to let Sif choose first. Thor thought it was rather fair, that neither team had the advantage of himself.

"Three teams it is, then!" Thor decided, clapping his hands. If nothing else, he hoped that Loki would at least be grateful to him for going along with it and might be more willing to spend time with his brother.

Loki looked pleased, and Sif looked slightly annoyed.

"And what if both of us lose to Thor?" Sif questioned him.

Loki inclined his head. "Then whichever of us loses first is the loser of our wager."

Sif rolled her eyes and made a noise of assent.

The fifteen minutes were almost over, and children were returning to the training area. Some newcomers were arriving as well, having only recently heard of the snow. There were definitely enough children for three teams now.

Thor announced the three captains; the children seemed excited about a three-way-war.

Sif went first. "Hogun, to me."

Loki was next. "Fandral."

Thor chose last. "Volstagg, my friend. Join me!"

They continued in this order until all of the teams were decided.

Sif had Hogun, Skurge, Ēostre, Kvasir, Gefjun, and Fulla.

Loki's second choice was Sigyn, then Höðr, Hœnir, Hlín, and Amora.

After Volstagg, Thor chose Vör, Nanna, Forseti, Dagr, and Freyr.

The other children were extremely relieved that the six were finally broken up. For every game, it had been Thor, Sif, Loki, at least one of the warriors three, and a few others against the other half of the kids. Now that only two of the six were on each team, it looked like a fair fight; especially with Thor and Loki on opposing teams. It rarely happened, but when it did it always promised to be a great game.

Thor's team ripped up a red flag from the training shed and tied a piece red cloth onto their upper arms. Sif's team did the same with a white flag. Loki's team ripped up a black flag.

The teams clustered together to discuss their plan of attack, and then scattered quickly.

Thor's team immediately scooped up snow and flung it at the other teams relentlessly. Loki's team looked for places to protect themselves from the snowballs—a few worked together to build up a relatively high wall of snow—and collected their snowball ammunition behind their fortifications. Sif's team dodged the snowballs coming at them and in the same motion threw a snowball back at whoever had just attacked them.

The three opposing strategies kept the game at a stalemate for a long while. Team Thor and Sif went at it while Team Loki's wall grew wider and thicker, eventually holding all seven children—and a positively enormous pile of snowballs—within a circular wall of snow. Thor and Volstagg were demons, scooping up handfuls of snow and throwing them at anything that moved. Sif and Hogun moved just as quickly, though there was less snow-flinging from them. Only a few people on each team had taken their first hit, and everyone still had at least two more left before they were out.

Thor's team began to run out of steam—and snow—so they started being more careful with their throws. At least, careful enough to not hit their own team members. They were hitting much closer to their marks, and Sif's team was starting to show signs of tiring. But then, Team Sif's throws were nearly hitting their targets as well.

Sif herself kept throwing her snowballs—to no avail—at Loki's snow fort. She had obviously instructed her team to do the same, but all they did is make the wall even thicker.

No snowballs came from within the snow fort, and the pile of snowballs kept growing until there was no snow left on the ground for them to use.

Sif's team stood on one side of the field, Thor's stood on the other. They had finally broken apart, in order to rest for a moment. Loki and his team were still in their fortress, and remained silent. Sif glared at the wall of snow suspiciously. She hadn't taken a hit yet, neither had Thor. All of Loki's team were still in the game. Two players from Thor's team had taken their third hit already, and one of Sif's as well. The three unlucky players—Freyr, Nanna, and Fulla—lay on the ground where they had taken their last hit.

"Come out and fight us like a man, Loki!" Sif shouted; frustrated with his strategy. She didn't really expect him to answer.

He did anyways. "No need to shout, Sif. Of course I'll come out." And he leaped out, one arm carrying as many snowballs as he could.

Sif was surprised enough to just stand there while the first snowball hit her in the face. She regained her wits and dodged the next two, however. Soon both teams were back to throwing snowballs at each other and Loki. The second prince managed to hit Thor once and a few other players as well, before he ran out of snowballs.

However—as the other teams soon found out—Loki wasn't their real problem. After he ran out of ammunition, he ran near Sif's team, drawing their fire (and attention). But as soon as Loki had left his fort, his team began to throw their hoarded snowballs at the other distracted players. Soon the field was littered with fallen, giggling children.

Sif, Thor, and Loki each had one hit left. The former two attempted to corner the latter as revenge for his trick. Hogun and Volstagg joined their captains.

Loki backed up into the fence. He looked behind him to see what he had run into, and then turned back to his pursuers. The small boy put his hands up in surrender, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry?"

Sif's eyes narrowed. His voice didn't sound right. Something was fishy... but that could wait. She threw her hard-packed snowball at the same time that Thor threw his. It hit her target, and Loki flinched. And then... he-_she_ wasn't Loki anymore.

Sigyn stood in front of them, wearing the same sheepish expression as she sat down to 'die'.

Thor, Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun whipped around when they were each hit in the back with a snowball.

Loki and Fandral stood behind them triumphantly. "Game over, I think." Loki stated disinterestedly.

Sif turned to look at Sigyn again, then back to Loki, then back again. "But- you... How did... she was... what?"

Loki held back an amused smirk. "Really, Sif. I thought you were more articulate than this. _What_ in the nine are you referring to?"

Sif blinked several times, and looked to Thor for help. He looked more or less resigned, and not at all surprised.

She collected herself. "We chased _you_ here, and now you're... Sigyn."

The girl stood and went over to Loki. "You really thought I looked like the prince? We _are_ almost the same age, but I did not think we looked _that_ similar."

Loki schooled his expression into one of concern. "Do we need to escort you to the healers? They can check your eyesight..."

Sif stomped her foot. "My eyes are not broken!" A small crowd was gathering around them. "I know what I saw, Loki! It must have been a spell! There is a magic user here. Likely the same one who..." She drifted off, her thoughts going on a completely different track.

Loki wrung his hands behind his back, but managed not to look nervous.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Sif looked Loki in the eye, daring him to deny it. Thor froze next to her.

He looked slightly exasperated. "_What_ was me? I cannot read your thoughts, Sif."

"All this weird stuff. The snow, Sigyn looking like you, everything Thor and you seem to find by _chance_. You wield magic, do you not? You are the so-called '_skilled_ seidr-weilder' that does not want me to poke my nose where it does not belong?" She threw his words back at him.

Loki rolled his eyes. "What a silly question... **(OMG. Look up SMOSH interviewing Tom Hiddleston on YouTube. BEST THING EVER.)** Of _course_ I am not a wizard. To be able to do magic like this," He gestured up to the snow clouds, "one would have to study for many decades. Even if I _could_ wield seidr, I would have needed to start learning _ages_ ago in order to do a spell like this."

Sif was silent for a moment, trying to decide if he was telling the truth or not. Sigyn nodded silently in agreement with the second prince. The crowd around them murmured suspiciously.

Fandral laughed from beside Loki. "You are a terrific liar, my friend. But I'm afraid your brother is not. He could not look guiltier! Caught red-handed, eh Thor?"

Thor jumped as if he had been electrocuted. "What?" he boomed. "My brother is no sorcerer! He has been hiding nothing from you!" Thor looked and sounded a little too desperate to be believable.

Sigyn piped up. "Loki didn't cast these spells! Amora and I did!"

Loki shot her an almost imperceptible look of gratitude, and then glared openly at Thor. He just wished the imbecile would shut his mouth and let the grown-ups do the talking.

Amora joined the group, smiling coyly. "Don't cover for him, Sigyn. _I_ want to see how Loki talks his way out of _this_ mess."

Thor now looked thoroughly confused. "Wait, you two know that he—?" He clapped a hand over his own mouth quickly.

Loki looked murderously at his brother. He almost forgot to spare some of his hatred for Amora too. The key word being '_almost'_.

"Aha! So it _is_ true!" Sif smiled giddily; now she has loads of teasing material for the trickster!

All eyes were on the second prince. A male practicing magic? It was nigh unheard of in Asgard, save for the kings. But kings _must_ use magic; however they don't generally _study_ it before being crowned! Men are meant to fight valiantly in battle; not to cast spells for wards, illusions, and healing! And not just _any_ male, but the prince! The town would talk for _ages— _literally, decades if not centuries— of it, whether it be true or not.

Loki seemed to suddenly notice that there was a crowd of young Asgardians staring at him with expressions ranging from shocked disbelief to outright disgust. He clenched his fists and gave Sif the coldest look he had ever given anyone. "I hope you're _happy_." He closed his eyes briefly. "_hverfa_" And then he was gone, not even a wisp of smoke or spark of light to warn them.

Thor looked sadly at the place his brother had been seconds before. He knew—and he suspected that Sigyn and Amora knew as well—that Loki was actually still there, and only invisible. Loki was most talented at changing how things appear—along with vapour/water/ice magic and fire magic—so he only made himself appear as if he had teleported. Not that anyone who didn't know magic (or Loki) very well would know this. The first prince pushed his way out of the congregation, purposefully creating a path for Loki to escape through.

Loki noticed, and darted out behind his brother. That one thoughtful gesture almost made up for his earlier idiocy. It was mostly Amora's fault anyways. He'll make her pay later. Loki touched Thor's arm for a second before sprinting back to the castle as silently as he could. Thor watched as footprints appeared in the dirt seemingly of their own volition. He stood away from the group and waited for everyone to leave. The snow stopped falling and began to melt in the summer heat.

The crowd chattered excitedly. What interesting gossip they had to spread! It did not take long for them to go running back to their families to tell of what they had seen.

Only Sif, Thor, The Warriors Three, Amora, and Sigyn were left.

Sigyn glared at Amora hatefully. "You- you- fiskur konu!" She slapped Amora across the face. "_Why_? Why would you do that to him?"

Amora rubbed her cheek calmly. "He needed to admit it already. He's obviously talented at magic, he should be proud. The longer he kept hiding, the worse it would have been for him. Anyways, he'll always have us." She glanced at Thor. "Him too, I guess."

Thor clenched his fists and approached her. She was older than him by many decades, but he still managed to tower over her. "That was _not_ your decision to make, _wench_."

Amora cowered under Thor's anger. "R-right! You're right! I'll just- I'll just go make sure he's alright." She slipped away from him and ran as fast as she could for the library."

As soon as Amora was gone, Sigyn and Thor seemed to deflate.

"Oh, he'll never talk to me again..." Sigyn looked ready to cry. "I should have intervened earlier..."

Thor touched her shoulder. "I do not know why my brother put his trust in Amora or yourself, but such a trivial thing on your behalf would not break that. You did your best to keep his secret. Leave him be for a while, he'll come around."

Sif chose that moment to butt in. "Why would he tell you and Amora? We have been his friends since he was very young, and he did not tell us!"

Sigyn looked distastefully at Sif. "You really cannot think of _any_ reason he did not tell you? He told _us_ because we caught him with a magic book in the library. Amora and I thought it was fantastic, so we decided to help teach him with what _we_ know of Magic."

"You and Amora are sorceresses?" Thor asked incredulously.

Sigyn smiled patiently at him. "In the making, yes. Amora aims to be the most powerful enchantress in all the nine. I want nothing so ambitious. I only wish to know enough to aide my husband when he needs me."

Fandral chuckled off to the side. "I can think of _one_ man who would be eager to have such a devoted wife..." He winked, making Sigyn blush.

Thor turned his attention to Sif. "You lost the snow-war, Sif."

She nodded slowly. "Yes... and where is this statement of the obvious going?"

"You broke your word." Thor looked as if he was trying very hard not to give her the same treatment as he had Amora. "You said you would drop that line of questioning, and you did not. Look at what has become of poking your nose where it does not belong."

It would have been better if he had simply yelled at her. Sif felt like an utterly horrible person, feeling his disappointment hit her like a tidal wave. She looked at the ground. "I am sorry. I will need to make it up to him in some way..."

"Yes. Do not apologise to me, Sif. I am not the one you wronged." Thor nodded once, and then turned to head back to the palace.

Sigyn gave Sif one last withering look, then ran towards her home.

Sif remained staring at the ground. "I never intended _that_."

Fandral shook her shoulder. "You couldn't have foreseen that, Sif. Right Lads?"

"Right you are!" Volstagg boomed. Hogun simply nodded.

"But what if he never forgives me?" Sif was distraught. "What if he'll never play with me anymore?"

Volstagg looked curiously at her. "Er, excuse me if I'm wrong, but as of late it has seemed to me that getting him to go away has been your goal, hasn't it?"

She sniffed. "No, you oaf. Of course not! I tease him, but I'd never want him to hate me!" Sif shook her head violently to emphasize her point.

Fandral shook her shoulder a little again. "I don't think he'll hate you _forever,_ Sif. Knowing Loki, he'll play some embarrassing prank on you and call it even. _Relax_."

She nodded to show she understood.

"And Sif, don't take whatever prank he pulls on you too personally, okay?" Fandral made her look at him.

She exhaled, rolling her eyes at him. "I will not, so long as he doesn't touch my hair." She tugged on her golden braid protectively.

* * *

"Mother?"

Frigga looked up from her sewing. "Yes, Thor? What troubles you?"

"It's Loki, Mother. All the children know he uses magic now!" Thor shifted on his feet.

She closed her eyes. "I foresaw this... What happened? Is he alright?"

"He turned invisible and ran to the library, I think. Sif figured it out after we played a game in the snow..."

"That girl is very clev- wait, snow? It is summer, Thor!" Frigga had no idea about the personal snowstorm.

"Yes, snow. Loki made it snow because it was too hot for him!" Thor made it sound like that was the obvious answer.

Frigga shook her head as if she were having difficulty understanding. "That is advanced magic... he didn't tell me he could- I'm sorry. But he is safe? So long as he remains out of trouble, he will be fine. Loki will prove that Magic is not just a tool for women at home. I have seen this. He will be respected in time." She reassured her son. "He needs to be alone for a while. He will seek you out when he is ready." Frigga kissed Thor on the forehead. "Go and eat lunch with your friends, be merry and forget about this for the time being."

Thor nodded and left for the kitchens. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to forget about it—surely it would be the centre of most conversations anyways—but he would do his best to act as if nothing had changed. Loki is his (only) brother, and if he hears anyone says a word to slander him, Thor will put them in their place.

* * *

He asked the cooks to bring him a meal, and then went to the communal dining hall in town. He braced before he pushed the doors open. Surely half the town would be in there, and many would know of Loki already...

He wasn't wrong. The hall was abuzz with gossip, with the parents listening avidly to their children for a change. Everyone was so distracted that only a few people noticed the prince entering, however.

Thor quickly found his friends where they sat apart from the gossiping masses.

Volstagg had an enormous pile of food in front of him. "Thor! Will you join us?"

The prince nodded and sat to wait for the cooks to bring his food. Thor didn't feel like speaking at the moment; he found the hilt of his sword _very_ interesting.

Sif and The Warriors Three found things to talk about. They planned a trip into the woods; but decided that it wouldn't be the same without Loki. They would ask him as soon as they could. The four of them attempted to stay on safe topics. Thor's food came, and he ate it quickly. He joined the conversation, remembering what his mother told him.

"Lady Sif, have you decided which weapon you plan to master?" Thor did an admirable job of acting normal.

She was surprised to have been addressed. "Er, not yet. I rather like swords. But Fandral's is much too light for my liking, and broadswords are too heavy. It would not be so awful if it was equally heavy on both sides, though. If there were such a thing as a dual-bladed sword..." She trailed off, realising she was talking too much. "Sorry, have you?"

Thor shook his head sadly. "I am skilled with a blade, but I wish for a more powerful weapon. I have not yet chosen my companion for battle."

"You two better hurry up already." Volstagg said through a mouthful of boar. "All three of us have ours already. You can't go on quests authorised by the king without your own weapon. We shall leave you behind if you take too long!"

"Aye." Hogun inputted, taking a long drink.

After that, they fell back into their usual jaunty conversation. Soon they were all laughing and joking as if all was normal.

* * *

Loki rejoined them the next day. There was an uncomfortable amount of staring at him, but his friends soon realised that he was still Loki. With or without magic, he still caused trouble and made them laugh.

Sif vowed to be nicer; at least, until he gave her reason not to. After all, if she could be a warrior of Asgard, then why should she begrudge him wishing to be a sorcerer? She even apologised to him!

Loki wouldn't join them in public, however. He ate meals on his own, trained on his own, and kept to the library when they went into town. Nobody blamed him, after listening to some of the rumours going around. Things needed time to cool down.

People in the village grew bolder each day. Some would stop Thor if they saw him. They would ask him how long his brother had been learning Magic, and sought to understand why Thor defended his _argr_ brother so openly.

Soon the village quieted, however. Or at least, kept their gossiping amongst themselves. Odin would say nothing on the matter; and Heimdall was likewise silent. Frigga and Thor defended Loki stubbornly. Loki, on the few occasions that he went into the town, would level ill-speakers with such a look of cold challenge that all of them- even those who claimed they would 'teach that argr little imp a lesson or two'- quailed before him. The warriors three would speak in Loki's favour whenever any spoke against him. It made little difference, though things did eventually quiet down.

Sif did get pranked, as Fandral predicted.

She woke up one morning, and all was as usual. She washed, dressed, and braided her hair (not a strand was to be allowed out of place!).

She checked the mirror, then went to leave her chambers. Just your average morning.

Then it was not so average. The second she stepped out her door, she was covered in _something_. She ran back to her mirror, scooping the stuff out of her face. When she thought it safe to open her eyes, she was greeted with a horrendous sight. From head to toe, she was covered in sticky, smelly, goopy, yellow-as-piss paste. (like glue)

Her Mother came running the moment she heard Sif scream.

It took them _hours_ to get it all off. Sif had to miss a day of training. Her mother drew a bath of warm goat's milk to get it all off. All of it had dried on her within an hour, making it infinitely more difficult to get out. She could not even remove her clothing until after the bath!

But the worst part of this prank, the part that had her cursing Loki and all of his ancestors to Helheim, was that it nearly refused to come out of her hair. the Goat's milk helped somewhat, but it took at least three extra hours to brush every dried bit of paste out of her golden Locks.

She almost had to cut it all off!

* * *

**AN: I AM BACK FROM THE DEAD. HALLELUIA!**

**I used Icelandic this time.**

_**Hverfa-**_** disappear**

_**fiskur konu-**_** fishwife. It's a serious insult. I saw it on the internet.**

**Sorry for the long wait. Long story short, I got a job. And friends that actually like having me over. And I've kinda got a crush on this one guy... ****nu shuddap me.**

**Any suggestions will be considered!**** Remember, I write this stuff for your enjoyment. If you would enjoy a certain fic about them, feel free to prompt me!**

**Reviewers get to slap Amora. Or give Loki a hug. Your pick.**


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